MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team (4-2, 1-0 NSIC) defeated the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) Saturday evening, in the opening game of conference play, in Mankato, Minn. 

In the early going it was all Mavericks as they broke out to a 25-10 lead behind a balanced attack including eight points from Juwan McCloud and Tre Baumgardner.  Concordia-St. Paul struggled to tighten the game despite outscoring Minnesota State by three mid-way through the half. 

With a few minutes to go in the half, McCloud made back to back heat check three-point shots forcing the Golden Bears to take a timeout.  Out of the timeout, Minnesota State went back on the offensive, extending their lead to 54-36 at the half.

McCloud led all scorers in the half with 19 points and Baumgardner finished the half with 12.  Kevin Krieger led the Mavericks with nine rebounds while adding five points and five assists.

Minnesota State outshot Concordia-St. Paul 54.3% to 40% in the first half and outrebounded them 24-18. 

The Golden bears came out firing in the second half going on an 11-8 run in the opening minutes to shrink the Maverick lead to 62-47.  Minnesota State responded going on a 12-7 run of their own, pushing their lead back to 20 with 9:55 to go in the second half. 

With a commanding lead late, the Mavericks took the opportunity to get many of the younger members of the team some playing time as they settled into a 91-72 victory. 

McCloud led all scorers with 24 points on the night and Baumgardner added 18.  Krieger led the team in rebounds with 12 while adding seven points and six assists.  Minnesota State outshot Concordia-St. Paul 46.5% to 43.5% and outrebounded them 44-38. 

Next weekend the Mavericks will travel to Marshall, Minn., Friday, to take on the Mustangs at 7:30 p.m., and then to Sioux Falls, Saturday, to challenge the Cougars at 6:00p.m.