PITTSBURG, Kan. – Minnesota State Moorhead men's basketball dropped a non-conference affair with Pittsburg State on Saturday evening. The Dragons fell victim to 23 turnovers in a 94-74 loss to the Gorillas.
It was the Gorillas who quickly took command of the scoreboard to open action in the first half. The Dragons would see five early points from
Sam Hastreiter, but still trailed 15-7 five minutes into the contest. Freshmen
Isa El-Amin and
Sam Hondl would keep the Dragons within six points as the midway point neared. Hondl converted on an and-one to cut the deficit to five points.
Pitt State would be quick to respond following Hondl's effort, scoring seven straight points to jump back in front by 12. The Gorillas would lead by 13 points (28-15) with 10 minutes to play in the first half. Moorhead had eight early turnovers compared to zero from the Gorillas. A triple from
Timaris Brown would dwindle the Gorilla lead to 10 points. Hastreiter would then convert an and-one to bring Moorhead within single digits.
Hastreiter would go on to knock down a three to bring MSUM within five points with under six minutes to play. Pitt State would have a strong response, scoring seven straight points to push their lead back to 12 points. At the break, Pitt State led 45-34 after shooting 54.5 percent from the floor. While the Dragons shot a respectable 48 percent in the first 20 minutes, it was 17 turnovers that truly plagued MSUM. Hastreiter scored 11 points in the first half while
Dominic Gooden added six off the bench.
The Gorillas would begin the second half on a 10-2 run, expanding their lead to 19 points. Pitt State would lead by as many as 22 points before the Dragons began to chip away.
Tysen Gerads, Gooden, Hastreiter and
Eddie Beeninga would all score to get Moorhead to within 13 points near the midway point. With under 10 minutes to play, the Gorillas had their lead back up to 17 points, 69-52.
Credit to Pitt State, who consistently met any Dragon run with one of their own. Throughout the remainder of the contest, MSUM would come as close as 18 points with the Gorillas leading by as many as 24 points. The Gorilas would win 94-74 as Moorhead finished the game with 23 turnovers. Hastreiter led the Dragons with 20 points, an MSUM career-best. Gerads scored 14 with Gooden and El-Amin adding 10 points each for Moorhead.
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Up Next
MSUM (0-2) gets set to host the
2025 East-West Shootout next weekend in Moorhead. The Dragons take on both Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines as part of the four-game tournament.
