Men’s basketball falls short to MSU Moorhead and Northern State

Jenna Peterson
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Mavericks men’s basketball teams fell short this past weekend when they played against the MSU Moorhead Dragons and the Northern State Wolves. 

The men’s team traveled to Moorhead for their Jan. 31 game against the Dragons, who currently hold a conference record of 10-6, compared to the Mavericks record of 9-7. The first half of the game was an offensive one for the Dragons, as they brought in a 42-35 lead into halftime. Despite this, neither team took the lead by more than seven points, making the back and forth game lead a surprise for fans. As a team, MSU shot 14-of-24 (.583%) from the field, while the Dragons shot 14-of-29 (.483%) from the field. The Dragons were also able to connect on 10-of-10 attempts from the free throw line and held a 16-10 advantage in rebounds. 

Mavericks senior Cameron Kirksey led the team in the first half with 16 points, including a 7-of-11 performance from the field.

Sophomore Kelby Kramer scored an extra nine points for the Mavericks.

Within the first few minutes of the second half, the Mavericks came within one-point of the Dragons in three separate occasions. A layup from freshman Corvon Seales brought the games score to 48-47, with the Dragons up by one with 15:20 left in the game. In the next five minutes, the Dragons went on a 16-2 run to go up 64-49 with 10:06 remaining in the game. The Dragons held their double-digit lead and took the 88-63 win.

Kirksey led the Mavericks with 22 points while shooting 10-of-18 from the field and Kramer added 11 points and a team-best six rebounds.

As a team, the Mavericks shot 44.3% from the field.

On Saturday, the Mavericks played against Northern State who currently hold a conference record of 13-3 and with this, the Wolves were able to take the win. 

Within the first nine minutes of the first half, the two teams were able to keep the score close, but shortly after the Wolves went on a 10-2 run and built their first double-digit lead at 23-13. Northern State was able to continue this lead throughout the first half and take a 37-22 lead at halftime. 

Mavericks freshman Ryland Holt led the team’s offense in the first half with eight points and five rebounds, while Kirksey followed with four points and three rebounds. 

As a team, the Mavericks shot 34.6% from the field in the first half.

Going into the second half, the Wolves continued their pace from earlier in order to stay ahead. With 11:11 left in the game, the Mavericks were falling short by 17 with a score of 51-34 and unfortunately, they wouldn’t get any closer to the Wolves for the remainder of the game. At the end, Northern State took the game 96-62.

Holt ended the game with a team-leading 12 points to combine with six rebounds, while senior Carter Asche scored 11 points.

Freshman Malik Willingham brought in 10 points and a team-best five assists with Kramer scoring eight points and a team-best nine rebounds.

The Mavericks will host the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Friday night and the Bemidji State Beavers on Saturday evening.

Header photo; Minnesota State guard Corvon Seales (15) dribbles the ball against Wayne State at the Taylor Center Friday, Jan. 24, 2020 in Mankato, Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)