SIOUX FALLS, S.D. --- Minnesota State led throughout Sunday evening at the Sanford Pentagon as the Mavericks defeated St. Cloud State 78-72 in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament.

With the win, MSU improves to 20-11 on the season. With the loss, SCSU drops to 20-12. The Mavericks will now take on Minot State in the semifinals of the NSIC Tournament on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Mavericks jumped out in front early on in the first half as they led 13-7 by the first media timeout. Senior Kyreese Willingham notched nine points in the opening minutes as he connected on 3-of-3 shots from three point range. The Mavericks would go up by as many as 11 points at 20-9 with 12:01 to go in the half, but SCSU was able to work its way back to within five points of the Mavericks at 22-17 with 8:50 remaining in the half.

The Mavericks would then outscore the Huskies 18-11 in the final 7:40 of the half to take a 40-28 lead into the halftime. Four different Mavericks reached the scoring column during that stretch, including Willingham, graduate student Drew Daniel and junior David Harmon who all recorded five points during that stretch.

Willingham led all scorers in the first half with 15 points, while senior Justin Eagins and Harmon each recorded seven points.

As a team, MSU shot 50.0% from the field in the opening stanza, including a 7-of-12 (.583) showing from three point range. MSU also enjoyed a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

Nate Dahl led the Huskies in the first half with 11 points, while Luke Winkel and Lucas Morgan each tallied five points.

As a unit, SCSU shot 11-of-27 (.407) from the field in the in first half. The Huskies also outscored the Mavericks in the paint 16-10.

SCSU began the second half on a 7-0 run to cut MSU's lead to five at 40-35, only to see the Mavericks respond with a 12-2 run of their own to go up by 15 at 52-37 with 12:17 remaining. Five different Mavericks scored during MSU's 12-2 run, including Eagins and junior Malcolm Jones who each tallied three points.

The Mavericks continued to add to their lead as they went up by 23 points at 67-44 with 6:19 to go in the game. SCSU managed to get back within six of the Mavericks in the closing seconds but it would get no closer as the Mavericks defeated the Huskies 78-72.

Willingham finished with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds, while Eagins tallied 23 points and seven assists.

As a team, MSU shot 56.9% from the field, including a 10-of-19 (.526) showing from downtown. The Maverick bench outscored the SCSU bench 21-12.

Winkle led the Huskies with 20 points and five rebounds, while Dahl added 17 points.

As a team, SCSU shot 40.3% from the field.