Box Score St. Cloud, Minn. –  St. Cloud State’s Tim Bergstraser hit a jumper with nine seconds remaining to propel the 24^th-ranked Huskies to a 64-63 victory over Minnesota State in front of 2,108 fans in Halenbeck Hall on the campus of St. Cloud State University.

“Our kids played so hard,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler.  “We competed all night and I am so happy with our effort tonight.”

The Huskies led for the majority of the first half, pushing a lead as big as nine with five minutes and 22 seconds left at 28-19, prompting a Minnesota State timeout. 

Following that break, the Mavericks used a 9-3 run to close the halftime deficit to 31-28 as sophomore guard Alex Hanks gathered a steal and hit a tough runner at the buzzer.

Minnesota State hit on just 34.6 percent of its shots in the first half and was led in scoring by sophomore forward #Connor O’Brien# with nine points off the bench. 

Mavericks continued the run to 19-5 to start the second half as it opened a 38-34 lead following a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jimmy Whitehead, prompting a SCSU timeout with 17:55 left in the game.

MSU continued to keep its foot on the gas as it extended its lead to 45-36 with 15:39 remaining, forcing the Huskies into its second time out of the game. 

Freshman forward Zach Romashko pushed MSU’s lead to 57-44 –its largest of the game -  with 7:40 remaining has he drained a 17-footer from the left wing, prompting another Husky timeout.

Following the timeout, the Huskies used a 13-0 run, holding the Mavericks without a field goal for over five minutes, to tie the game at 57. 

O’Brien ended the run with a 17-foot jumper and then collected a rebound on the defensive end – his 10^th of the game – before hitting pair of free throws, prompting another SCSU timeout.

SCSU’s Brett Putz hit a three and a lay-up to give SCSU a 62-61 lead before O’Brien hit a jumper to regain the lead at 63-62, setting up Bergstraser’s heroics. 

O’Brien finished the night with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, marking his sixth double-double of the year and the ninth of his career.  Senior guard #Stephen Kirschbaum# added 15 points while Whitehead added 11 points while passing out a career-high eight assists.

The Mavericks shot 45.1 percent from the floor and won the battle of the glass, 37-28.  Minnesota State’s bench outscored the Huskies, 26-4.

The Mavericks (7-15, 6-11) return to action tomorrow evening at Concordia University.  Tip is set for 6 p.m., at the Gangelhoff Center.