MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Minnesota State Moorhead men's basketball continues its conference season this week in a pair of road matchups in North Dakota. The Dragons take on Minot State on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before facing off with the UMary Marauders on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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

Matchup History...The Dragons are 11-2 since the 20118-19 season against the Beavers. Moorhead last defeated the Beavers on March 4, 2025 in the NSIC Tournament Championship, 78-66. Minot State claimed one of three meetings with the Dragons in 2024-25, winning handily in Moorhead on December 20, 2024, 76-52. MSUM will put a seven-game win streak against the Marauders on the line this Saturday. The Dragons swept UMary a season ago, most recently a 76-58 win on February 8, 2025. Since the 2019-20 campaign, Moorhead is 10-2 against the Marauders. 

Comeback Kids...Moorhead erased a 21-point deficit to defeat (RV) Minnesota Duluth last Saturday.  The 21-point comeback was the largest since Mike Olson's Dragons came back from 20 down to defeat Minnesota Morris on the road 73-72 on January 3, 2000.

Clutch Gene El-Amin...Freshman guard Isa El-Amin played well beyond his years in the victory over the Bulldogs. El-Amin scored a team-high 28 points in the victory, including sinking the go-ahead (and eventual game-winning) three-pointer with 4.4 seconds remaining in overtime. The Minnetonka, Minn., native also sent the game into overtime with a late three in regulation. El-Amin's output was a new collegiate high with the frosh shooting 55.5 percent from the floor for the game. 

Rod's House of Payne...Senior pivot man Rodrick Payne turned in a breakout performance for the Dragons against Bemidji State last Thursday. Payne's physicality proved too much for the Beavers as he would drop in 18 points and 10 rebounds as well as collecting two steals. Payne shot 63.6 percent from the floor for the game and finished with seven offensive rebounds. 

Levi's Big Break...Junior guard Levi Birkholz was a pivotal piece to Moorhead's victory over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. The Lake Mills, Wis., native was effective all evening, scoring 19 points in 19 minutes played. Birkholz also collected five rebounds, one steal and shot 80 percent from the floor for the game. The scoring output for Birkholz was a new collegiate career-high. 

Holy Hacker...Sharpshooter Landin Hacker showcased what he is capable of in two games for Moorhead last week. Hacker poured in 12 points, all stemming from three-pointers, in 15 minutes of action against Bemidji State on Thursday. The Greenwood, Ind., native finished the week shooting 71.4 percent from deep. 

KB's Got His Hard Hat...Senior Kabine Kaba has been MSUM's most effective rebounder so far this season. Kaba turned in a workman's line of three points, 12 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot on Thursday against Bemidji State. Kaba's effort helped the Dragons finish with a plus-16 advantage on the glass. The Brooklyn Center, Minn., native is averaging a team-best 4.8 rebounds per game.

Jason Kemp is in his first season as MSUM's head men's basketball coach. 

Scouting The Opposition

Minot State
2025 Record: 5-4 (2-1 NSIC)
2024 Record: 26-10 (14-8 NSIC)
Head Coach: Randall Herbst (1st Season)
Nickname: Beavers
Top Beaver: Deuce Benjamin (20.7 PPG, 4 RPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, 50 FG)

UMary 
2025 Record: 2-6 (1-2 NSIC)
2024 Record: 5-26 (3-19 NSIC)
Head Coach: Darren Tighe (1st Season)
Nickname: Marauders
Top Marauder: Kelton Coleman (14.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.7 SPG, 43 FG)