MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State men's basketball team cruised to an 85-68 win over the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears Saturday evening at Taylor Center.
 
With the win, the Mavericks improve their record to 5-7 (3-3 NSIC), while the Golden Bears fall to 3-7 (1-5 NSIC).
 
The Mavericks jumped out to an 11-2 lead to start the game. The Golden Bears cut the deficit to four points at 28-24 with 5:06 to play in the half, but MSU closed out on an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 13 points. The Mavericks went into the halftime break with a 43-30 lead.
 
The Mavericks shot 16-of-31 (51.6%) from the field in the opening half, including 7-of-17 (41.2%) from beyond the arc. The Golden Bears shot 12-of-31 (38.7%) from the field and 3-of-11 (27.3%) from three-point range.
 
MSU outscored CSP 42-38 in the second half as the Golden Bears were unable to cut into the deficit. The Mavericks shot 30-of-59 from the field (50.8%) and 13-of-28 (46.4%) from three-point range in the contest. Rebounds were knotted up at 35-35 for the game.
 
Five Mavericks scored in double figures for the game, with Ryland Holt leading the way with 24 points. while also grabbing seven rebounds. Malik Willingham finished with 19 points, 15 of which came from three-point shooting, and five rebounds. Corvon Seales added 16 points and eight assists, while Kevin Kriegerr chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Kelby Kramer scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
 
The Mavericks will be back in action Friday, Jan. 3, when they host Minot State.
 
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