Box Score Mankato, Minn. --- The ninth-ranked Minnesota State men’s basketball team secured its 20th win of the season Friday night by virtue of an 80-69 win over St. Cloud State in front of 2,611 fans in the Taylor Center, on the campus of Minnesota State University.
The Mavericks – who are now 20-2 on the season, 16-2 in the NSIC – have now reached the 20-win plateau for seven consecutive seasons.
The game started off in favor of the visitors as the Huskies led for the game’s first 18 minutes and 44 seconds. SCSU – which opened a lead as large as ten at 22-12 with 9:30 remaining in the in the first half - saw its lead trimmed to one as the Mavericks embarked on a 9-0 scoring spurt.
The run was keyed by redshirt freshman Jimmy Whitehead who blocked SCSU’s Taylor Witt. Whitehead then took an outlet pass from fellow redshirt freshman Connor O'Brien to the rim for a two-handed flush. On MSU’s next possession, Whitehead knocked down a jumper pulling the Mavericks within two.
The Huskies answered however as it opened a pair of four-point leads before eventually seeing their lead evaporate when Mason tied the game with a pair of free throws with 1:16 left, tying the score at 29, a tally that stood until the half.
Minnesota State shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first half but won the battle of the boards, 25-18, including 10-5 on the offensive end, turning the offensive rebounds in to 11 second-chance points.
Both teams traded baskets to open the second half before MSU took the lead at 33-31 on senior guard Marcus Hill's jumper in the paint. From that point on, MSU never trailed as it opened a lead as large as 14 on three different occasions.
“I thought this game had an NCAA tournament game feel,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler. “We didn’t play well tonight, especially on the defensive end but we grinded it out and got a victory. Now we turn our attention to Concordia tomorrow night in what is the last regular-season home game for five of our seniors.”
The Mavericks shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half, finishing the game with a 39.7 percent clip from the floor. MSU shot 6-of-14 from the three-point line – including 4-of-5 – in the second half and made 24 of its 32 free throw attempts.
Minnesota State pulled down a season-high 47 rebounds – including a season-high 18 on the offensive end in the win, while limiting the Huskies to 33 rebounds and just 10 on the offensive end.
Mason led Minnesota State with his fifth double-double of the year and the 17th of his career has he finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, six of which were offensive.
Hill added 11 points, five assists and tied his season-high with five rebounds while senior guard Cameron Hodges added 15 points.
Minnesota State’s bench outscored SCSU’s 25-8 in the win and both teams finished with 26 points in the paint.
The Mavericks host Concordia University tomorrow at 6 p.m.
To view the game stats, click HERE
To listen to Coach Margenthaler's postgame show, click HERE
To view MSU's YouTube channel, complete with a pair of dunks and the student sections pregame chant, click HERE
Senior guard Marcus Hill talks about the win:
