MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team (15-6, 22-4 NSIC) defeated the MSU Moorhead Dragons (15-8, 9-6 NSIC) 88-87 in Friday night at Taylor Center, on a night where Cameron Kirksey scored a career high 43 points.

Kirksey's performance marks the fourth time a player under coach Matt Margenthaler has scored 40 points or more in a game and is the third-most by any Minnesota State player in the history of the program (ranking only behind Jon Hagen's 50 points vs. Northern Illinois in 1965 and the 44-point effort by Norm Ness in 1964 vs. UW-La Crosse).

The opening pace of the game was frantic as both teams looked to establish a flow early, and the Mavericks held the early edge 17-13.  The Dragons fought back in the following minutes, cutting the Maverick lead to 22-19 with 9:57 to go in the half. 

MSU Moorhead continued to push the pace of the game, taking the lead and pushing it to 37-30 with 3:06 to go in the half.  After the Dragons hit a three-point shot to take a seven-point lead with ten seconds to go, the Mavericks responded with a full-court play that saw Karson Arrenholz hand the ball off to Tre Baumgardner for a three, making the MSU Moorhead lead 46-42 at the half. 

Kirksey led the Mavericks in scoring in the first with 17 points and five rebounds, while Baumgardner finished the half with seven points.  Minnesota State made 8-9 free throws in the half compared to 3-5 for MSU Moorhead. 

The Mavericks fed Kirksey the ball early and often in the second half as Minnesota State re-took the lead and pushed it to 57-53 with 15:13 to go.  With the game tied at 66, Kirksey brought down the house with a monster dunk from just inside the free-throw line. 

The teams then traded off taking the lead and tying the game until the Dragons took a 78-75 lead with 5:00 minutes to go. Kirksey drilled a three pointer that the Dragons responded with a layup before sending Kirksey to the line where he made both to give the Mavericks an 80-79 lead with 2:56 to go. 

The masterful performance for Kirksey continued down the stretch as the team continued to feed him inside and out, and that cleared a path to the hoop for Jamal Nixon who sliced through the paint to put in a layup with 20 seconds to go to give Minnesota State a three-point lead. 

Kirksey finished the game with 43 points and eight rebounds as well as a pair of steals and a block.  Kevin Krieger recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, while Baumgardner added ten points as well. 

In the game the Mavericks made nine three-pointers compared to five from the Dragons, and made 15 free throws compared to 12.

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.