Mankato, Minn. --- The #7 Minnesota State men's basketball team (24-4) continues play in the NSIC Tournament Friday evening as it takes on the #21 Augustana Vikings (21-7) at Taylor Arena in Rochester, Minn. The opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

What Just Happened: 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 Whitehead each 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 History: The 2012-13 season marks the 91st campaign as a varsity sport for Minnesota State men’s basketball. The Mavericks are 1,209-845 (.588) in 2,054 games since the program’s inception in the 1920-21 season. MSU capped its 33rd and final season as a member of the NCC in 2008 and owned a 283-267 (.515) record in 550 league games played. In the NSIC, MSU owns a 74-32 (.698) record to go with three regular-season championships.

The Mavericks have made seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament, going 12-9 (.571) in those trips.

A Little About Augustana: The Vikings enter the weekend the owners of a 21-7 record, including wins over Minnesota Duluth (89-81) and Northern State (85-61) to advance to the semi-finals of the NSIC Tournament.
    
The Vikings are led by Cameron McCaffrey, who is averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game, while passing out a team-leading 128 assists. Daniel Jansen is averaging 11.2 points per game, to go along with a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.

As a team, Augustana is averaging 72.7 points  per game, while bringing down 36.8 rebounds per contest.

The Vikings are coached by Tom Billeter, who is in his 10th season at the helm of the Augustana men's basketball program.

Series History:  Minnesota State is 57-47 all-time against Augustana, with both teams winning one game on the road this season. MSU head coach Matt Margenthaler is 16-9 in his career against Augustana. In two games this season against the Vikings, junior Gage Wooten is averaging 13 points per game, to go along with 7.5 rebounds per contest. Senior Jarvis Williams is averaging 12.5 points per contest, while junior Connor O'Brien is averaging 10 points and 8.5 rebounds in MSU's two games against Augustana.

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