Basketball upsets St. Cloud State in overtime

The Mavericks defeated the No. 13 Huskies for the surprise victory for the team

Aaron Young
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State men’s basketball team upset the No. 13 St. Cloud State Huskies over the weekend. In a ground and pound game, the Mavericks survived in Overtime to win the game, 80-77, last Saturday in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

From the start, Maverick junior guard Cameron Kirksey was the key to the Mavericks success, while St. Cloud redshirt freshman Gage Davis lit it up for the Huskies, finishing with 25 and 28 points respectively.

It was a close game in the first half as no one was able to get the upper hand, with the biggest lead being 5. 

After halftime, the game was built on runs from both sides. The Huskies had a 14-point lead right out of the gate but the Mavericks fought back. As the game was winding down, the Mavs tied the game up at 60 apiece. 

In the final possessions, senior guard Carlos Anderson hit a mid-range jumper to take the 69-67 lead late in the 2nd half. 

The Huskies responded with a basket of their own and just like that, the game went into overtime. 

St. Cloud State just never gave up though and kept grinding. The intensity was rising as the Huskies managed to get within three points. 

Similar to the Lindenwood game, St. Cloud had a last second effort to extend the game, and they missed. Resulting in an 80-77 victory for the Mavericks.

Although the Mavs ended up winning, they did almost blow the lead late, as they were up at one point 78-69 in overtime, but fortunately they held up the late rally made by the Huskies.

Kirksey was the player of the game for the Mavericks. The junior recorded a double-double, scoring 25 points and getting 10 rebounds in 47 minutes on the court. 

Junior guard Kevin Krieger also had a double-double on the night for the Mavs, putting up 24 points and 14 rebounds. Anderson was the third and last Maverick to rack up double digits with 13 points.

With this victory, the Mavericks improve to 2-1 on the regular season, while the Huskies drop now to 3-1 on the season. 

The game was for the taking, and the Mavericks won it and took a victory lap. After three too-close-for-comfort games, the Mavericks now face Tampa this Friday, kicking off the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic. The game will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Feature photo by Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter.