SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead men’s basketball team survived a hard-fought double-overtime contest with Minnesota State-Mankato on Friday, topping the Mavericks 73-61 in the quarterfinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
MSUM was scheduled to advance to the NSIC semifinals to face Wayne State. The Wildcats, however, will not be able to compete because of the COVID-19 testing protocols, and as a result MSUM automatically advances to the Sunday’s championship game. The Dragons will face the winner of Saturday’s Northern State/Minot State semifinal. The NSIC tournament championship game is Sunday at 4 p.m.
Guards Lead the Way
Junior guards Gavin Baumgartner and Lorenzo McGhee each had 21 points to lead the Dragons. McGhee shared the team lead with eight rebounds.
Senior forward Gatdoar Kueth had 14 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Bryce Irsfeld finished with nine points and had four assists.
Postgame Comments
MSUM Head Coach Chad Walthall:
“I’m proud of our guys. Obviously offensively we struggled tonight. We didn’t have a flow. Defensively we were fantastic. I’m proud of all the guys for hanging in.”
MSUM junior guard Lorenzo McGhee:
“We adjusted pretty well and we got the job done. That’s the ultimate goal.”
Second Overtime Act the Difference
The second overtime saw MSUM outscore the Mavericks 14-2. Irsfeld had six points in the second overtime including going 4-of-4 from the line while Kueth had four. The Dragons were a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line in the second overtime.
Defensive Struggle
MSUM came into the game averaging 84.4 points per game while Minnesota State came into the game averaging 79.8. Surprisingly Friday’s game turned into a low-scoring slugfest as the game was tied at 55-55 after regulation and 59-59 after the first overtime. MSUM shot 36.6 percent (26-of-71) for the game but held the Mavericks to 31.6 percent shooting (25-of-79).
Halftime Lead
MSUM held a 33-21 halftime advantage as Baumgartner drained a three-pointer in the final seconds. The Dragons held the Mavericks to 9-of-32 shooting from the field in opening half.
NSIC Working Overtime
Three of the four NSIC tournament quarterfinal games have gone to overtime, and the other game, which was Wayne State’s 73-70 win over St. Cloud State, was decided in the final minute.
Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | 2/26/2021 9:56:00 PM | Tom Berg
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