MANKATO, Minn. ---  The Minnesota State men's basketball team defeated the Waldorf Warriors 102-57, Monday afternoon at Taylor Center.  

The Mavericks started the scoring early with a steal followed by Cole Harper layup which sparked an opening 9-0  run in the first three minutes.  Strong Minnesota State team defense made every shot attempt from the Warriors difficult in the early going as the Mavericks held the lead at 15-7 with 14:26 remaining in the first half.  Waldorf found some success getting extra possessions from the offensive glass as Minnesota State struggled to box out and the lead dwindled to 20-16 at the 9:57 mark.  

The Mavericks started to find the range from the three-point line as freshman Cameron Kirksey drained one from the top of the key out of the timeout.  Senior Jon Fuqua started to get into a rhythm as he drove to the basket getting fouled on a dunk attempt, earning a pair of free throws, and then driving through the heart of the defense for a one handed slam to push the Minnesota State lead back to 10 points.  The remainder of the first half had baskets being traded by both sides with the Mavericks holding a 45-33 advantage. 
 
Minnesota State shot 51.5% from the field in the first half compared to 41.9% from Waldorf and Fuqua ended the half with 16 points and three rebounds.

The Mavericks continued to push the advantage in the second half with all of the starters getting into the action culminating in a steal by Fuqua that was passed up to junior Charlie Brown only to be returned on a thunderous one handed alley-oop to Fuqua that gave Minnesota State a 56-37 advantage with 15:01 remaining.  The Maverick defense clamped down hard over the Warriors as over the next five and a half minutes they only allowed three points while adding 10 of their own.  

Out of the timeout, Minnesota State nailed back to back three-point shots from sophomore Joey Witthus and senior Trey Sampson.  With 5:39 remaining in the game and the Mavericks holding an 80-48 lead the bench was cleared to get some valuable experience for some of the younger members of the team that will certainly help Minnesota State as the season progresses.  MSU's young players showed promise as they extended the final score to 102-57, giving them the comfortable win.  

For the game, Minnesota State shot 55.6% from the field compared to 32.8% for Waldorf, and made 22-of-31 free throw attempts on the game compared to 11-of-16 for the Warriors.  Fuqua led the Mavericks with 20 points and added five rebounds on the game along with three steals.  Witthus also contributed with 14 points and six rebounds.   

With the win, Minnesota State moves to 7-4 (2-3 NSIC) on the season. The Mavericks play their next game on Dec. 30 in Moorhead, Minn., as they face off against the MSU Moorhead Dragons at 8:00 p.m.

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