Box Score Mankato, Minn. --- The seventh-rated Minnesota State men’s basketball team got several key performances Saturday afternoon as it downed the MSU Moorhead Dragons 87-63 in the second round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament.
With the win, the Mavericks improved to 24-4 on the season. With the loss, the Dragons fell to 19-11 on the season.
The Dragons opened up the second half on a 10-0 run to pull within one of the Mavericks at 43-42. That was as close as the Dragons would get as the Mavericks outscored the Dragons 44-21 in the final 17:07 of the game to secure the 87-63 victory.
Sophomore
Assem Marei notched his sixth career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore
Zach Monaghan added 14 points and six assists, while junior
Gage Wooten poured in 13 points. Junior
Zach Romashko and senior
Jarvis Williams added 11 points each as well.
As a team, the Mavericks shot 36-of-66 (.545) from the field, including an 8-of-17 (.471) showing from behind the arc. The Mavericks also dished out a total of 19 assists, while forcing 15 Dragon turnovers.
Anthony Tucker led the Dragon offense with 16 points, while Alex Novak added 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Dragons came out firing in the first half as they maintained a 26-20 lead with 10:21 remaining in the opening session. The Mavericks would then close out the first half on a 23-6 to take a 43-32 lead into the locker room.
Eight Mavericks posted at least three points in the first half as MSU connected on 18-of-33 (.545) shots from the field. Marei, Williams and junior
Jimmy Whiteheadeach posted a team-high seven points in the first half. Marei also added six first-half rebounds.
Jordan Riewer led the Dragon offense in the first half with nine points, while Novak added seven points.
Minnesota State will take on the winner of the game between Northern State and #25 Augustana Friday, in the semi-final round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in Rochester, Minn. The opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
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