MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team (12-6, 8-4 NSIC) lost to the St. Cloud State Huskies (13-5, 8-4 NSIC) 77-74 in overtime Saturday night at Taylor Center.

In the opening minutes of the game the Mavericks could not miss, highlighted by Juwan McCloud who collected eight points in the first five minutes.  St. Cloud State was able to respond to the early run with an 11-0 run of their own, taking a 34-29 lead with 3:13 to go in the first.

Minnesota State fought back, and Carlos Anderson stole the ball from Gage Davis and took it down the court for a slam dunk to tie the game at 36.  The Huskies took the ball down the court and knocked down a buzzer beating three-pointer to take a 39-36 lead into the half. 

McCloud led the Mavericks in scoring with 11 points in the first half and added an assist and a steal.  In the first half Minnesota State stole the ball four times compared to two for St. Cloud State, which gave them an 8-5 edge in points off turnovers. 

Out of halftime, the Huskies went on a 10-3 run to extend their lead.  Once again though, the Mavericks fought back, cutting the lead to 63-61 with 6:09 to go, thanks to another dunk from Anderson. 

Despite foul trouble, the Mavericks matched the scoring output of Huskies, trailing 65-63 with 4:15 to go.  With 1:20 to go Cameron Kirksey knocked down a put-back to tie the game at 69, before the Huskies responded with a drive to the basket to take the lead.  Down by two with six seconds to go Kevin Krieger came off a screen to drill a fifteen-foot jumper, tying the game at 71 with 3.5 seconds to go.  The Huskies were able to get a shot after a full court pass, but it bounced off the rim, sending the game to overtime.

In the overtime period the Huskies took the early edge and were able to make their free throws down the stretch to secure a 77-74 win. 

Kirksey led the Mavericks in scoring with 27 points, rebounds and three assists.  Anderson finished with seventeen points to finish second on the team.  The Mavericks shot 45.1% from the field compared to 44.1% for the Huskies, but were beaten on the boards 42-32.

The Mavericks will return to the road next weekend when they travel to Wayne, Neb., to take on Wayne State Saturday, at 5:30 p.m. before traveling to Sioux Falls, S.D., to play Augustana on Sunday, at 3:30 p.m.