Hill Paces Maverick Offensive Attack Against U-Mary

12/11/2009 10:48:53 PM

Box Score MANKATO, Minn. --- Minnesota State junior guard Marcus Hill shot a scorching 7-of-10 from the floor – and 4-of-6 from the three-point line – to score a game-high 22 points as 14th-ranked Minnesota State downed U-Mary, 86-71, Friday evening in front of 1,134 fans in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.

Hill was one of five Mavericks to reach double-figures and joined senior wing Jefferson Mason members of the Maverick bench to score double-digits as Mason had 14 points fourth double-double of the year.

“I was very pleased with how we played tonight,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler. “Everyone off our bench scored tonight and we need that from them. This was a great win for us tonight against a good U-Mary team but we have to play better tomorrow night against Northern State.”

The first 17 minutes of the game were played even as the teams were knotted at 37 with three minutes remaining in the half. The Mavericks closed the first half on an 8-0 run – highlighted by a three pointer from Hill to push a 45-37 advantage at the break.

Hill led all scorers in the first half with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point line. He also passed out three assists in the first half as he contributed to 20 of MSU’s first 45 points. The Mavericks shot 51.7 percent in the first half and knocked down 11-of-12 free throws in the opening half.

U-Mary would cut the Maverick lead to 49-44 with 17:07 left in the second half before the Mavericks pushed their advantage back to a three-possession game. The Marauder’s would pull within nine points with 10:13 remaining before Mason drained a three and junior guard Joe Drapcho sank a pair of free throws to push the Maverick advantage back to 14 as MSU would never look back.

Minnesota State iced the game in the final two minutes by converting all six of its free throw attempts. For the game, the Mavericks converted on 29-of-32 free throw attempts while U-Mary only reached the line five times, connecting on four opportunities.

Senior guard Jermain Davis added 14 points for the Mavericks while senior center Travis Nelson and Drapcho each had 13. Hill led MSU with six assists while Drapcho paced MSU with three steals.

The Mavericks owned the battle of the boards, 41-28, including a 13-9 edge on the offensive edge. The Mavericks turned the 13 offensive rebounds in to 14 points.

Minnesota State (8-0, 2-0 NSIC) hosts Northern State Saturday night at 8 pm.

Note: Minnesota State senior guard Jesse Clark passed out his 443 career assist in MSU's win against the University of Mary, moving him into second-place on the school's all-time chart.

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