MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State men's basketball team (2-4) defeated the Cougars of Minnesota Morris (1-3) in its first home game of the season, 106-71. After a slow start to the game, the Mavericks shot an outstanding 61.1% in the second half to run away with it. In 19 minutes, redshirt freshman Will Opsahl scored 19 points on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Caden Kirkman also performed well; The newcomer ended with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Opsahl opened the game with a three-pointer and back-to-back paint scores from Kirkman and Kyrese Willingham put the Mavericks up 7-0. Senior guard Harrison Braudis sunk a three-pointer to put Minnesota State up by eight. Minnesota Morris made a three-point shot but Opsahl responded with one of his own to put the team up 17-8.
 
Minnesota Morris went on an 11-4 run over three minutes to bring it to within two thanks to some great passing and cutting from the Cougars. Opsahl ended the run with a three-pointer to put the home team back up by five. The Cougars eventually tied the game following an 8-3 run which put the score at 27-27. The Mavericks responded with a 9-0 run of their own to give themselves a 36-27 lead with 4:20 to play in the first half.
 
Pal Dak for UMM scored on back-to-back possessions to bring the Maverick lead to four, with 3:28 remaining. Neither team could find their footing with consistent scoring until Drew Daniel sunk a shot from past the three-point line with 0:29 left on the clock to give Minnesota State a 46-40 lead headed into the locker room.
 
Opsahl ended the first half with 11 points scored. Willingham had nine points through the first 20 minutes of the game. Those two sparked the scoring in the second half as well, as both players made layups to begin the final half. Opsahl's fourth three of the game put the Mavericks up 53-44 with 18:11 to play.
 
Willingham converted an and-one layup with the free throw to put MSU up 55-46, which started a 15-3 run for the Mavericks. David Harmon, Opsahl and Justin Eagins each made threes in those four minutes to catapult the team to a 68-49 lead with 14 minutes to play. A three from Carson Schweim gave Minnesota State a 21-point lead with 12-and-a-half to go, 73-52.
 
Minnesota State continued to extend its lead with a 10-3 run that saw a three from Eagins and layups from Willingham, Kirkman and Braudis. A tough layup inside from Malcolm Jones gave him 10 points on the day with 5:43 remaining. Schweim got up and slammed in a dunk on the head of a Cougar player and senior Tyrell Stuttley made an and-one opportunity to put the team up 95-61. Schweim followed up his dunk with a pair of three-point makes to put Minnesota State over the century mark, 101-63. Stuttley had a dunk of his own and Chase Bartlett made a three to cap off the scoring for the Mavericks. MSU won the game 106-71.
 
After a rough first-half shooting performance, the Mavericks ended with an even 50% field goal percentage. The team made 15-39 from three-point range (38.5% 3P). MSU grabbed 51 rebounds, dished out 25 assists and ended with six blocks and six steals. The team scored 36 points in the paint and 39 points came from bench players.
 
Opsahl was the team's leading scorer with 19 points. He shot 6-9 from the field and made five threes. The redshirt freshman ended with four rebounds and two assists in the win. Willingham had 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Kirkman recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. The transfer from Augustana also had a block.
 
It wasn't the best shooting day for Eagins, as he shot 3-9 from the field and ended with nine points scored, but he was a great facilitator of the offense, recording six assists. Schweim ended with 15 points and made four threes. Jones scored 10 points and had seven rebounds.

Next week, the MSU men's basketball team travels to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the Bill Gross Augustana Classic. The Mavericks will take on Jamestown (2-4) on Friday, November 29 at noon. On Saturday, November 30, Minnesota State is set to play Truman State (3-1) at 11 a.m. Both games will be played at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls.