Box Score Mankato, Minn.— The 14th-ranked Minnesota State men’s basketball team scored 54 second-half points and turned a 39-37 halftime deficit into a 91-75 victory Saturday night in front of 1,124 fans in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.
Senior center Travis Nelson led all players in scoring with a season-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from the stripe. Nelson also had four rebounds and four blocks in the victory.
The two squads traded six leads and two ties in the first half as Northern State opened a 39-37 lead at the half, marking just the second time this year that Minnesota State has trailed at the break.
NSU led 37-28 with 3:49 remaining in the half, before Minnesota State used a 7-2 run to cut the halftime deficit to two points. Nelson scored 15 points in the first half, while senior wing Jefferson Mason recorded a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) in just 15 minutes of action in thee half, his second double-double in as many games, his fifth of the year and the seventh this season by a Maverick.
“I told our guys at halftime that we needed to turn up our intensity level,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler. “They responded well, the second half was one of the better halves we have played all season.”
Junior guard Joe Drapcho nailed a three to start the second half as MSU regained the lead at 40-39. Northern State would score on its ensuing possession before Nelson converted a traditional three-point play to push MSU to a 43-41 advantage.
A suffocating Maverick defense forced a turnover on Northern State’s next trip down the court and the offense answered as Drapcho knocked down a 16-footer from the right wing. NSU would hit a jumper to cut the Maverick lead to 45-43 before senior guard Jesse Clark knocked in a running jumper and converted a free throw to open a five-point lead at 48-43.
The Mavericks would score on the next two possessions – a layup from Clark followed by a steal from senior Jermain Davis and a layup by Mason to push MSU’s lead of the game at 52-45, forcing NSU to call a time out at 16:08.
Northern State came out of the timeout and converted on a layup before Davis answered on the other end with a three-pointer. The Maverick defense again stepped it up as Nelson blocked a shot and Davis took the rebound coast-to-coast for the layup and the foul. Davis converted the free throw and MSU opened a 58-47 lead with 15:14 remaining in the half.
Owning 61-52 lead with 11:49 remaining in the game, MSU went on a 14-0 run to put the game out of reach over the next 4:01 as it opened a 75-52 edge.
Mason finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Clark added 10 points and six assists.
As a team, Minnesota State shot 48.5 percent from the floor and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the line. The Maverick’s scored 48 points in the paint and scored 21 points off 18 Northern State turnovers.
Minnesota State (9-0, 3-0 NSIC) closes out the calendar year next Friday as it hosts Cardinal Stritch. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
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