SIOUX FALLS, S.D. --- The second half proved to be the difference Sunday afternoon at the Sanford Pentagon as Minnesota State scored 47 points in the second stanza to defeat Concordia-St. Paul 73-51 in the second round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament.
With the win, Minnesota State improves to 21-9, while Concordia-St. Paul ends its season with a 6-25 record.
Scoring came at a premium throughout the entire first half as the Mavericks carried a 26-25 lead into the locker room.
Senior
Aarias Austin gave the Mavericks an early 5-0 lead after making a couple of baskets. Concordia-St. Paul responded with a 6-0 to take its only lead of the opening stanza at 6-5 with 16:01 to go in the half.
MSU reclaimed the lead and held it throughout the rest of the half after a three pointer from freshman
Cameron Kirksey put the Mavericks up 14-11 with 11:20 to go in the half. The Mavericks led by as many as eight points as the first half wound down. MSU led 26-19 with 3:20 to go after a bucket from sophomore
Joey Witthus, but the Golden Bears were able to close out the half on a 6-0 run to close the gap to 26-25 as both teams went into the locker room.
Austin led all scorers in the first half with eight points, while Kirksey tallied seven points. As a team, MSU shot 32.4% from the field, including a 3-of-12 showing from behind the arc.
Ted Brown and Diallo Powell led the Golden Bear offense in the first half with seven points each, while Bryndan Matthews hauled in eight rebounds. As a unit, CSP held a 25-19 advantage in rebounds in the first half, but it committed eight turnovers compared to MSU's three.
The second half saw the Golden Bears take their second lead of the game at 27-26 after a layup from Brown, but it would be all Mavericks after that as they went on a 17-4 run to go up by 12 at 43-31 with 14:52 to go. Minnesota State would hold its double-digit lead throughout the rest of the game as they defeated the Golden Bears 73-51.
As a team, the Mavericks shot 61.5% (16-of-26) from the field in the second half. MSU finished the game shooting 45% from the field. MSU also passed out 12 assists as the Golden Bears committed 16 turnovers.
Austin finished with a game-high 21 points. He also hauled in seven rebounds and passed out five assists. Witthus added 16 points and seven rebounds of his own, while sophomore
Jay Knuth notched 11 points and three rebounds.
CSP finished the game shooting 40.8% from the field. Powell led the CSP offense with 16 points, while Matthews notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Mavericks continue play in the third round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Monday as they take on the winner of the game between Upper Iowa and St. Cloud State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., at the Sanford Pentagon.
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