MANKATO, Minn. --- It came down to the wire Saturday evening in front of the third-largest crowd in Taylor Center history, but 4,155 fans witnessed #5 Minnesota State come away with the 81-78 win over #3 MSU Moorhead.

With the win, the Mavericks improve to 19-1 on the season, including a 13-1 NSIC record. With the loss, the Dragons drop to 17-3, including an 11-3 conference record.

Scoring was at a premium in the early going of the first half as the Dragons held a 16-10 lead at the midpoint of the opening stanza. The Mavericks chipped away at the Dragon lead and eventually took their first lead of the game at 25-24 with 3:48 to go in the half. Justin Eagins provided the bulk of the offense on the Mavericks' 15-8 run as he notched 10 of the Mavericks' 15 points.

The Dragons reclaimed the lead and it appeared that they would take a three point lead into halftime, but in the closing seconds the Mavericks worked their way down court to set up Eagins who connected on his fourth three pointer of the half to send the game into halftime tied 33-33.

Eagins led all scorers in the first half with 18 points, while Brady Williams hauled in eight rebounds. As a team, the Mavericks shot 35.7% from the field in the first half, including a 4-of-10 showing from long range.

Jacob Beeninga led the Dragons in the first half with 11 points and three assists. As a team, MSU Moorhead shot 43.8% from the field in the first half, but just 1-of-8 (.125) from three point land.

The start of the second half proved to be very different for the Mavericks as they began the half on a 24-8 run to take a 57-41 lead with 11:12 to go. Kyreese Willingham and Dylan Peeters each recorded seven points during the opening stretch of the second half, while Malik Willingham added six points.

Undaunted, the Dragons then put together a 24-7 run of their own to reclaim the lead at 65-64 with 3:52 remaining. Ja'Kair Sanchez recorded 13 of the Dragons 24 points during their 24-7 run. The lead would change hands six more times as a jumper from Sanchez would put the Dragon up 74-72 with 1:19 left.

Trailing by two, the Mavericks wasted no time driving down court as Eagins found Malik Willingham who notched his first three pointer of the game to put the Mavericks back up at 75-74 with 1:03 to go. With 13 second to go Elijah Hazekamp brought down the defensive rebounds and the Dragons were forced to foul. Both teams would frequent the free throw line in the closing seconds, but the Mavericks would still hold the lead at 81-78 with just over a second left. Logan Kinsey managed to get a three point shot off as time expired, but it just missed the mark as the Mavericks held on to the 81-78 win.

Eagins finished with 23 points, including a 7-of-8 showing from the free throw line. Malik Willingham notched 21 points, all of which came in the second half, including three free throws in the final five seconds. Dylan Peeters and Hazekamp each finished their night with 11 points and six rebounds.

As a team, the Mavericks shot 43.3% from the field. MSU also passed out 12 turnovers and hauled in 36 rebounds.

Sanchez led all scorers with 28 points, while Jacob Beeninga added 19 points. Dane Zimmer finished with 11 points and eight rebounds also.

As a team, the Dragons shot 41.1% from the field, including an 8-of-24 (.333) performance from three point range. MSUM also recorded 46 rebounds and passed out nine assists.

Minnesota State continues its season on the road this Tuesday as it takes on Minnesota Duluth. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at Romano Gymnasium.

 
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