Box Score Mankato, Minn. – The 15th-ranked Minnesota State men’s basketball team rallied from a four-point deficit (78-74) with three minutes and 27 seconds remaining to earn an 87-82 victory over Bemidji State Friday night in front of a season-high1,483 fans in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.
Senior guard Marcus Hill hit four consecutive free throws in back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 80 before senior wing Jefferson Mason gave MSU the games finals lead at 82-80 with 45 seconds left.
Redshirt freshman Connor O'Brien gathered a steal at midcourt and went to the rim for a transition dunk to push a four point advantage with 28 seconds remaining before BSU’s Pat Cassidy hit a lay-up to cut the deficit in half.
Cassidy, who was fouled on the lay-up, missed his free throw and Minnesota State senior guard Taylor Morrow hauled it in before being fouled. Morrow hit the front-end of a one-and-one to give MSU an 85-82 edge.
The Beavers saw a three-point attempt by Jake Lindstrom lip out with 14 seconds remaining in their final attempt to tie the game. Senior guard Joe Drapcho hauled in the rebound and hit both free throws to secure the win.
“That was a great win for us tonight,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler. “We had contributions from everyone tonight and that was great to see. Now we have to refocus and get ready for a Minnesota Duluth team that will bring a totally different style of ball into the Taylor Center tomorrow night.”
Bemidji State opened the game firing on all cylinders as it hit on eight of its first ten opportunities as it raced to an early 17-11 advantage.
The Mavericks didn’t back down however as back-to-back three-pointers by Mason and redshirt freshman Jimmy Whitehead tied the game at 19 with 11:04 remaining in the half.
From that point on, both teams combined for six ties and lead changes until the Mavericks regained the lead at 37-34 with 3:31 remaining when Mason picked a steal and went coast-to-coast. Mason converted the traditional three-point play as the Mavericks took a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the half.
The Mavericks opened its biggest lead of the game as time expired to end the first when O’Brien converted a putback as time expired.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the first half as the Beavers hit on 62.5 percent of their chances while MSU connected on 57.1 percent. Mason led all scorers in the first half with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 7-of-9 from the stripe.
The Mavericks opened the second half with a quick 6-2 spurt to open a 10-point lead forcing a BSU timeout.
The Beavers responded to the timeout and cut the Maverick advantage to four at 59-55 with 13:20 remaining before Drapcho converted a traditional three-point play to push MSU’s lead to seven.
Bemidji State answered with a 7-0 run over the ensuing three possessions to tie the game at 62 with 11:45 remaining, prompting a Maverick timeout. After forcing the Mavericks into a missed shot, BSU took its first lead since 23-21 with 9:45 remaining in the first half when Burke Lendl converted a pair of free throws.
Mason answered with a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 64 with 10:22 remaining.
From that point on the game – which featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes – saw five lead changes and four ties.
Mason led the Mavericks in scoring with 28 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 11-of-15 from the free throw line. Hill added 21 points – including an 8-of-8 effort from the free throw line.
O’Brien finished with a season-high 15 points and game-high 10 rebounds to record his third double-double of the year while Drapcho added a season-high 13 points in the victory.
Minnesota State finished the night shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and 83.9 percent (26-of-31) from the free throw line. BSU shot 52.7 percent for the contest and hit on 53.8 percent of its long-range opportunities.
Both teams scored 42 points in the paint but the key was the Maverick defense, especially late in the contest. MSU forced 16 turnovers in the win converting them into 24 points. The Mavericks also took advantage in transition as they scored 10 points via the fast break.
Minnesota State (14-2, 10-2 NSIC) return to action Saturday evening at 6 p.m. against Minnesota Duluth.
To view the game stats, click HERE
To listen to Coach Margenthaler's postgame show, click HERE
Connor O'Brien talks about the win
