Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men’s basketball team – ranked #8 in the nation and the top-seed in the Central Region – opened the 2010 NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament surviving a scare from eighth-seeded Colorado School of the Mines Saturday evening as the Mavericks pulled out a come-from-behind victory, 84-80.

Minnesota State was paced on the stat sheet by senior guard Jermain Davis who finished the night with 19 points and a career and game-high 12 rebounds. 

“I was very relieved to get those 40 minutes of basketball done,” said head coach Matt Margenethaler.  “Give credit to the Colorado School of Mines, I thought they played an absolutely great game.  They do all the little things right and they are going to be back here (at the Regional).”

The Mavericks opened the contest with a 10-4 run as senior center Travis Nelson and Davis each had dunks in the set offense. 

Minnesota State pushed a lead to as big as eight at the 13:29 mark before the Colorado School of Mines crawled back to tie the game at 21 with 7:06 remaining.

CSM continued to put the pressure on the Mavericks as it built a nine point lead at the break.  The Maverick halftime disadvantage marked the largest Minnesota State at halftime faced this year. 

The Mavericks shot an icy 29.4 percent in the first half, their lowest first half output of the season.  Minnesota State made just 8-of-18 free throw attempts in the opening 20 minutes, while the Orediggers connected on 9-of-12.  The Mavericks did own the edge on the glass, 25-20, including 15-1 on the offensive end.  Despite the 15 second chance opportunities the Mavericks had just five second chance points in the first half.

“We went into the locker room at break and we immediately came together as a family at halftime,” said Davis when asked if the squad was frustrated at the break.  “We knew that we had to protect our own home court.”

CSM hit on its second basket of the second half to push an 11 point lead and maintained at least a three-possession edge as late as the 12 minute and five second mark of the game.

Junior guard Jefferson Mason gathered a steal at the top of the opposing key and took it the length of the court to slam home a two-handed transition dunk, reducing the Oredigger lead to seven. 

On the ensuing School of Mines possession, junior guard Marcus Hill picked up a steal and drilled a three-point basket from the left wing to cut the deficit to four.

CSM’s Grant Agee answered on the ensuing possession with a three to push the lead back to seven, which would represent the largest Oredigger in the final 11 minutes.

Minnesota State then went to the free throw line for its points as Davis and junior wing Cameron Hodges each sank a pair of extra opportunities to cut the lead to three with 10:03 remaining.

Davis converted a nifty layup at the 7:54 mark to pull the Mavericks with in one before Drew Hoffman drilled a three for the Orediggers to push the lead back to four.

The two teams then traded baskets until the Mavericks tied the game at 63 when senior guard Jesse Clark converted a traditional three-point play. 

CSM tried to answer on the ensuing possession, but Davis blocked a baseline three-point attempt by Hoffman and took it the length of the court for a layup to give the Mavericks a brief 65-63 edge. 

Brent Green hit a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 65.  The Mavericks then embarked on an 11-2 run to push a nine-point lead with 66 seconds remaining.

The Mavericks still had an 11 point lead with 27 seconds remaining before the Orediggers drilled three three-pointers to cut the edge to four as time expired.

“We got kicked in the face tonight for about 30 minutes,” said Margenthaler.  “That’s honestly what I think this team needed.  We have to play better to win tomorrow, but for now, we’ll take this win and learn from it.”

Mason led all Mavericks with 19 points as he hit 6-of-11 field goal opportunities and knocked down 7-of-11 free throw chances.  He also finished with nine rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist.

Davis’ 17 points came on 5-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-9 from the free throw line.  Hill joined Davis with 17 points to round out the Mavericks in double-figures.

Minnesota State finished the game shooting 40.6 percent from the floor and outrebounded CSM, 44-33.  The Mavericks finished with 21 offensive boards, compared to just four for the Orediggers.  Minnesota State’s bench finished with 26 points and the Mavericks scored 21 points off 16 CSM miscues.

Minnesota State (25-4) hosts the winner of the fourth-seeded St. Cloud State and fifth-
seeded Metro State game Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

To view the stats, click HERE

To listen to the Colordo School of Mines postgame press conference, click HERE

To listen to the Minnesota State postgame press conference, click HERE