MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead men's basketball returns to the road for a pair of NSIC matchups this weekend. The Dragons take on Minnesota State on Friday at 5:30 p.m. before taking on (RV) Winona State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. 

Live video and stats will be available at msumdragons.com. Fans can listen to Saturday's game against the Warriors on AM 1100/FM 92.3 with Jace Denman and 'Big Game' James McCarty on the call. 

Matchup History...Minnesota State has won the past two games against the Dragons. The Mavericks defeated MSUM in last season's NCAA Central Region Tournament semifinal, 78-55. Overall, the squads have split the last six games as the last time the Dragons defeated MSU was on January 21, 2023 by an 86-76 count. Winona State also holds a two-game winning streak heading into Saturday's tilt. Prior to that, MSUM had won three straight against the Warriors, most recently in an 88-58 win on January 28, 2023.

Last Time Out...MSUM lost two games in NSIC play last weekend, falling to both Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. Carson Johnson led the Dragons in both games, scoring 17 points against the Mustangs and a career-best 27 points against the Coo. Sam Hastreiter added 12 points against SMSU while Jacob Jennissen scored 20 points against USF.

Ankeny's Finest...Freshman point guard Carson Johnson turned in two strong performances against SMSU and USF last weekend. Johnson scored 17 points with eight rebounds and three steals against the Mustangs. Johnson then scored a career-high 27 points against USF on Saturday, marking a 50 percent field goal mark. The Ankeny, Iowa, product also led the NSIC in free throw percentage for the weekend, making 13 of 14 attempts (92.8 percent).

Jennissen Shows Out...Junior center Jacob Jennissen had a career showing last Saturday against Sioux Falls. Jennissen scored a career-high 20 points on nine of 15 shooting from the floor (60 percent). The junior also snared 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Across two games last weekend, Jennissen averaged 13 points, eight rebounds while connecting on 57.1 percent of his field goal attempts. 

Sam Looks Smooth...Junior forward Sam Hastreiter saw back-to-back double figure scoring games last weekend for the Dragons. Hastreiter scored 12 points against SMSU on Friday before tallying 10 points on Saturday against Sioux Falls. The Lincoln, Neb., native shot 46.2 percent from the field while making four three-pointers. Hastreiter also made all six of his foul shots during the weekend. 

Defending The Deep Ball...MSUM saw success in limiting teams from long range last weekend. The Dragons held opponents to a combined 13 for 45 (28.8 percent) from three-point range across two games. MSUM held SMSU to a four of 20 clip from distance on Friday alone. For the season, MSUM has held the opposition to a 31.7 percent success rate on three-point attempts. The Dragons have only surrendered 91 made three-pointers this season, a mark that is best in the NSIC.

Quick Scout...Minnesota State is led by two strong upperclassmen in forward Kyreese Willingham and guard Justin Eagins. Willingham averages 17.2 points per game while Eagins scores 13.7 per contest, both in the top-20 in the NSIC. Winona State is incredibly balanced, offering up four double figure scoring averages. The Warriors are led by Luke Haertle, who is third in the conference in scoring at 17.4 points per game.

Tim Bergstraser is in his third season as MSUM's head men's basketball coach.