MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minnesota State Moorhead men's basketball used a balanced attack early and often in a drubbing of Minnesota Crookston on Tuesday evening. Six Dragons scored in double figures as Moorhead defeated the Golden Eagles, 95-69.
Moorhead was swift in its offensive attack to open the first half as the Dragons built a six-point lead within the first five minutes.
Isa El-Amin would get the Dragons started, followed by a three-pointer from
Kabine Kaba.
Dominic Gooden would cap the opening section with five straight points, including a three of his own. Moorhead would expand its lead to 12 points following another three-pointer from Gooden. The redshirt junior was forced to cast a deep shot as the shot clock was winding down. Luckily for Gooden and the Dragons, the ball banked home to have Moorhead up 21-9.
After a behind the back pass from
Landin Hacker found
Rodrick Payne for a bucket, Moorhead had firm control, 24-11. Gooden would put on his facilitator hat as well, dishing out a pass to
Timaris Brown for a three-pointer. While Minnesota Crookston would cut the deficit to single digits, MSUM would answer back with a major run.
Adam Jenkins would score first, followed by a three-pointer from freshman
Sam Hondl.
Jenkins would then take over, scoring down low before drilling a long range shot. The longball from the big man provided the Dragons a 19-point advantage. At the break, Moorhead led 46-27 after
Sam Hastreiter knocked down a triple as time expired in the half.
The offense would only continue into the second half as the Dragon lead ballooned to 24 points after a three from Hastreiter and a thunderous jam from Payne. Hastreiter led the charge early in the half before Kaba scored on back-to-back possessions. The senior converted on an and-one, followed by a dunk to keep the lead at 24 points (72-48). From there, Moorhead would not let its lead dip below 20 points with the Dragons leading by as many as 28 points following a triple from
Eddie Beeninga.
MSUM would earn the 95-69 victory as six players scored in double figures, led by 14 from Gooden. Hastreiter, Payne, Kaba, El-Amin and Jenkins all notched 10 or more points as the Dragons converted on 47.9 percent of their shot attempts. Jenkins logged 11 rebounds as well, certifying his first career double double.
Top Dragons
Steve d'Eustachio's Stat of the Game
The Dragons now own a ten-game winning streaks against Minnesota Crookston and St. Cloud St.
Up Next
MSUM (3-2, 1-0 NSIC) has a pair of non-conference games on deck as part of the CSP Thanksgiving Tournament. Action begins for the Dragons on Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State at 2 p.m.
