MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State men's basketball team (11-7, 7-3 NSIC) won its second game of the weekend Saturday evening against the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston (3-13, 2-8 NSIC), 90-63. The Mavericks operated at a 4.6 assist-to-turnover rate and made 14 three-pointers in the win. Four MSU players finished in double figures. Harrison Braudis led all scorers with 18 points on 4-5 three-point shooting, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.
 
Kyreese Willingham and Will Opsahl kicked off the game with a pair of three-pointers to put the Mavericks up 6-0 to start the first half. Brayden Carlson quickly made it a one-point game after a pair of layups, the second becoming an and-one opportunity after a shooting foul. Minnesota Crookston's Reid Grant sunk a three, but Willingham made a tough layup to tie the game at 11-11. Chase Bartlett, who started the game for Minnesota State, sunk a three-pointer after a nice stop on defense to put the team up three.
 
After a media timeout, Grant scooped up a steal and scored in transition to make it a one-point game. Carson Schweim assisted on consecutive three-point makes by Braudis and David Harmon to put the Mavericks up five. Braudis hit a flurry of threes, including one that started a 23-4 run that put the team up 45-24. On that run, Willingham slammed in two posterizing dunks and Braudis scored 13 points, which included three makes from deep.
 
With five minutes left in the half, it was the Caden Kirkman-Kyreese Willingham show. Willingham assisted on a pair of Kirkman slam dunks, and then Willingham matched a three-point make after giving one up on the defensive end to reach double digits. The senior from Waseca, Minn. caught a lob from Kirkman to put the Mavericks up 54-34 to end the first half.  
 
The Mavericks shot 55.6% in the first half and made 53% of its three-point attempts, sinking nine threes. Minnesota State dished out 15 assists as a team and ended the first half with six steals.
 
Braudis had a 16-point first half, as the senior guard shot 4-5 from three-point range and grabbed a team-high five boards. Willingham scored 14 points, seven assists, three steals and a block in the first half. He shot 6-13 from the field and made two three-pointers.
 
Kirkman kicked off the second half with a pair of inside makes to and Bartlett hit a three to make it a 61-34 game. Minnesota Crookston scored five-straight after a layup and a three, but Opsahl and Schweim sunk back-to-back three-pointers to put the team up by 28. Opsahl nailed another jumper from deep to get the Mavericks to 70 points. The Golden Eagles pushed back on a 7-0 run but Schweim made a corner three to end the drought. Malcolm Jones threw down a monster dunk off a great feed from Braudis.
 
Following an 8-0 run from Minnesota Crookston, Drew Daniel made three free throws after he got fouled on a three-point attempt to put the score at 80-59. Braudis made an excellent wrap-around pass to Bartlett, who made a wide-open layup to reach double digits, the first time he has done so in his Minnesota State career. Daniel rushed the hoop and made a nice move to get an easy look inside that put MSU up 88-61. Harmon reached double digits for the third time this season on a layup that helped the Mavericks reach 90 points. When the clock hit 0:00, the scoreboard read that Minnesota State won 90-63.
 
The Mavericks made 32-70 from the field (45.7% FG), 14-32 from three (43.8% 3P) and 12-16 from the charity stripe (75% FT). The team ended with 23 assists and just five turnovers, a 4.6:1 ratio. On defense, MSU had 11 steals and four blocked shots.
 
Four Mavericks reached double figures, and two were one point shy. Braudis led all scorers with 18 points on 6-11 shooting and 4-5 three-point shooting. He ended with a team-high seven rebounds and had five assists and a steal. Willingham dished out one more assist in the second half and sat the rest of the game; He ended with 14 points on 6-14 shooting, eight assists, four steals, a block and a rebound. Harmon had 11 points, two boards and two assists along with a steal on defense. It's his first double-digit performance since the Mavericks' second game of the season against North Georgia. Bartlett got the start and had a career day, ending with 10 points on 3-5 shooting, as he made two threes. Defensively, he had four steals and a block. Opsahl and Kirkman both finished with nine points.
 
MSU held Minnesota Crookston to just 36.1% field goal shooting. The Golden Eagles made 8-21 from beyond the arc and 11-13 from the free throw line. Grant led the way for UMC with 17 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal.
 
The Mavericks are back at home next weekend for two more NSIC games. First, the team takes on MSU Moorhead (10-5, 5-4 NSIC) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, January 17. The following day at 3:30 p.m., Minnesota State will host the Huskies of St. Cloud State (10-8, 6-4 NSIC).