Mankato, Minn. ---  Senior guard #Stephen Kirschbaum# drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with four seconds remaining to break a 55-all tie and propel Minnesota State to a 58-55 victory over Upper Iowa Friday evening in front of 835 fans in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University.

“I’m extremely proud of the way our guys fought tonight,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler.  “We had a lot of guys step-up tonight in big spots and our energy guys carried us tonight.”

Minnesota State opened the game by taking a brief four-point lead before Upper Iowa embarked an 20-3 run to open a 22-9 lead with eight minutes and 47 seconds remaining.

Kirschbaum – who scored a team-high 12 points in the first half, including ten of MSU’s first 12 points – nailed a three as MSU rallied with an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 24-20 with just under five minutes remaining.

Both teams then traded baskets into the half as the Peacocks took a 30-26 lead into the break.  Minnesota State shot 37.5 percent in the first half, while Upper Iowa hit on 46.4 percent of its chances.  The Peacocks owned a 20-12 edge on the glass in the game’s first 20 minutes. 

Upper Iowa maintained its lead for the first 15 minutes of the second half before the Mavericks used a 7-0 run – all of which were scored by sophomore guard #Alex Hanks# – to give MSU a 49-48 lead with 5:18 remaining. 

Minnesota State would push a five-point lead with 24 seconds remaining when sophomore guard #Jimmy Whitehead# hit a lay-up before Upper Iowa scored five unanswered points in a span of four seconds to knot the game at 55, setting up Kirschbaum’s heroics.

Kirschbaum tied his career-high with 15 points while sophomore guard #Travis Meinders# established a career-mark with 15 points.  Meinders also added five rebounds to lead MSU.`

The Mavericks finished the night hitting on 46.7 percent of its shots, a season-high.  Upper Iowa won the battle of the glass, 33-22, while MSU forced 17 turnovers turning them into 20 points. 

Minnesota State (3-6, 2-3 NSIC) hosts Winona State tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Matt Margenthaler following the win

Alex Hanks talks about the win: