Box Score

Mankato, Minn. ---  St. Cloud State earned a 77-75 come-from-behind victory over Minnesota State Saturday night in front of 1,018 fans in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.

The Mavericks – which led by as many as 11 in the second half – held the lead in the second half for all but the final 83 seconds.

“This one is a tough one to swallow,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler.  “I felt this was the first time all year that we played a complete game.  Obviously things didn’t go our way but we there are a lot of positives that we will be able to take out of this loss.”

After St. Cloud State opened a lead early, Minnesota State used an 8-0 run, thanks in part to five free throws and a three-point basket by junior guard DJ Hoskins to open a 25-18 lead.  From then on, both teams would trade baskets before MSU took a 33-28 lead into the break, its first halftime lead since the season opener.

Freshman guard #Miles Chamberlain# led MSU in scoring with eight points in the first half as he saw eight minutes off the bench.  The Mavericks shot 40.9 percent from the floor in the first half, including 80.0 percent from the three-point line while owning an 18-15 edge on the glass.

Once MSU opened its largest lead of the game at 49-38 when sophomore forward #Connor O’Brien# hit a lay-up,  St. Cloud State used a quick 11-4 run to pull within two at 53-51 with ten minutes remaining.

The game remained basically a two possession game from that point on.  The Huskies would take their first lead of the second half when Shaun Jensen hit a lay-up to make it 73-72.  From that point on, Jensen would hit another jumper and Brett Putz converted a pair of free throws to ice the game.

O’Brien and freshman guard Kelly Madison led MSU in scoring with 13 points while sophomore guard Travis Meinders added a career-high 12 points.  Chamberlain finished with 10 points.   Senior guard Stephen Kirschbaum tied his career-high with seven rebounds.

The Mavericks finished the night hitting on 45.5 percent of its chances while SCSU hit 47.4.  The Mavericks won the battle of the glass, 40-27, including 14-8 on the offensive end, turning those 14 offensive rebounds into 14 points.

Jensen led all Huskies with 17 points.

Minnesota State (2-6, 1-3 NSIC) hosts Upper Iowa Friday at 8 p.m.

Head coach Matt Margenthaler on the postgame show with Casey Lloyd

Kelly Madison talks about the loss