ABERDEEN, S.D. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead men’s basketball team came to an end on Sunday as the Dragons fell to No. 2 Northern State, 77-65 in the NCAA Central Region tournament semifinals.
MSUM finished the season at 11-5 while Northern State improved to 19-1.
Inside the Numbers
Junior guard Gavin Baumgartner led the Dragons with 24 points. He was 8-of-23 shooting. He added six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward Dane Zimmer added 11 points and six rebounds. They were the only Dragons in double figures.
Junior guard Bryce Irsfeld had nine points. Junior guard Siman Sem had six points and a team-best seven rebounds off the bench.
The Dragons shot just 33.8 percent (24-of-71) for the game compared to 51.8 percent (29-of-56) for Northern.
Head Coach Chad Walthall, Postgame:
“We have great respect for Northern State. Their talent level is very high. To beat a team like that, you’ve got to take care of the basketball, and we didn’t quite do it well enough. We had some big-time looks we usually look down and in this kind of tournament, if you’re going to beat a team like that, you’ve got to knock down some open threes and they just didn’t go tonight. I was proud of our effort.”
Ahead at the Break
Thanks to 15 points from Baumgartner, MSUM held a 35-33 halftime lead. The Dragons also outrebounded the Wolves 22-15 in the first 20 minutes, including a big 9-2 edge in offensive rebounds. MSUM trailed by as many as nine in the first half but battled back to take a 35-33 lead at the break.
Second Half the Difference
The Dragon offense was held in check in the second half. MSUM scored 30 points but was just 10-of-34 from the field (29.4 percent), including 1-of-12 (17.4 percent) from three. The Wolves shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half and outscored MSUM 44-30.
MSUM led 38-33 early in the second half after Baumgartner converted a basket and a free throw. The Wolves then outscored MSUM 27-10 over the next nine minutes to surge into a 60-48 lead. MSUM close d to within 66-60 with 3:53 left on a Sem dunk but got no closer.
MSUM hit just one of its final 14 three-point attempts.
Familiar Foes
MSUM and Northern State were meeting for the fourth time in 23 days. The Wolves won three of four meetings; MSUM is the only team to beat Northern State this season.
Senior Send Off
Sunday was the final game for Dragon seniors Jake Mertens and Joe Sevlie. Mertens is a two-time winner of the NSIC Elite 18 Award in men’s basketball.
Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | 3/14/2021 7:24:00 PM | Tom Berg
