Box Score St. Cloud, Minn. --- St. Cloud State used 34 points and 18 rebounds from senior center Matt Schneck en route to a 92-84 victory over Minnesota State Saturday evening in Halenbeck Hall on the campus of St. Cloud State University.
The first half was tightly contested as the Huskies took a 37-35 lead at the break with a pair of free throws from Andrew Bernstetter.
Both teams were able to establish offense in the first 20 minutes as the Mavericks opened a six point lead at the early in the game. SCSU answered and opened a nine point advantage of its own before MSU used an 11-2 run to tie the game at 33. During the run, the Mavericks converted all five of six free throw attempts to force the tie.
The first half featured five ties and four lead changes. The two teams basically mirrored each other from the floor as MSU connected on 41.4 percent of its chances awhile the Huskies hit on 41.7.
Both teams owned leads in the second half, with the Huskies owning a 76-66 with 3:08 to play.
The Mavericks quickly cut that lead to four when MSU scored six points without the Huskies crossing to their half of the court.
The Huskies answered however with a 9-0 run to push the lead back to 86-73 and never look back. SCSU hit 6 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to ice the game.
Junior guard Jefferson Mason led the Mavericks with 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 10-of-14 from the line. Senior center Travis Nelson led the Mavericks with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting
Mason also pulled in a team-high 13 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double of the season and the 10th of the season. Mason’s 28 points also marked his season-high, marking the second straight night he established a new season-high for points. It is also the most points by a Maverick this season.
The Huskies owned the battle of the boards, outrebounding MSU, 45-33, including 13-8 n the offensive end. The Huskies shot 51.5 percent for the game, including 62.5 percent in the game’s final 20 minutes. The Mavericks hit on 46.8 percent of its chances, including 51.5 in the second half.
Minnesota State (22-2 , 15-2 NSIC) travels to Southwest Minnesota State Feb. 20, for an 8 p.m., contest against the Mustangs.
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