Men’s basketball splits series against Vikings and Wildcats

Jenna Peterson
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Mavericks men’s basketball team finished the weekend 1-1 after going up against the Augustana Vikings and the Wayne State Wildcats.

On Friday, the Mavericks opened their game against the Vikings with freshman Ryland Holt and Corvon Seales both scoring a 3-pointer to start the team on a 6-0 lead. The Mavericks continued to grow their lead with senior Cameron Kirksey going to the basket with a layup and putting the team at a score of 23-9 with 12:26 left in the first half. 

Augustana came back with a 20-5 run throughout the next seven minutes to take their first lead of the game at 29-28. Despite the Mavericks recovering with another lead of their own, both teams would tie up at 36 at halftime.

To begin the second half of the game, the Mavericks built a six-point lead to bring the score up 44-38, but the Vikings responded with a 51-50 lead with 10:08 remaining. Following this, Augustana constructed their largest lead of the game at 59-50 with 8:25 left in the game.

The Mavericks came back with a 9-0 run, which included a 3-pointer from Kirksey and four free throws from sophomore Kelby Kramer to tie the score at 59. 

Seales came in with a layup with 1:46 in the game to bring the score between both teams within one point. In the last few minutes of the game the Vikings outscored the Mavericks 7-1 and took the 73-66 win.

Kramer ended this game ringing in his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks, while Kirksey scored 17 points and Seales brought in 15 points of his own.

Altogether, the Mavericks shot 34.8% from the field in addition to an 8-of-20 (40%) showing from behind the 3-point line.

On Saturday the Mavericks fought hard in overtime against the Wildcats and the hard work payed off.

In the first half of the game the Mavericks had to put on the pressure on defense to bring in a 30-23 lead going into halftime. Both teams took turns holding the game lead, but ultimately the Mavericks pulled through. Kirksey led the Mavericks in the first half with 11 points along with five rebounds.

Kramer added another seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to help the team as well.

The Mavericks shot 35.5% from the field in the first half of the game.

With just a little over nine minutes in the second half, the Mavericks constructed their largest lead of the game with 11 points and a score of 47-36. The Wildcats then came back with an 11-0 run within the following three minutes to tie up the score. 

Minnesota State controlled a two-point lead, 61-59 after a free throw form senior Kevin Krieger with 20 seconds remaining in the game but Wayne State responded with a layup to put the game in overtime.

The Mavericks didn’t slow down with the extra time and scored seven points right away, leading to a score of 68-61 with 2:42 left in the game. The Wildcats answered back with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 68 with 40 second to go. With a jump shot and a pair of free throws from Seales, the Mavericks locked in their 72-70 win.

Kirksey ended the game with his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Kramer brought in his seventh double-double of the season as he scored 13 points and a season-high 19 rebounds along with six blocks. 

Krieger scored 16 points, while Seales followed with eight points and five assists.

As a team, Minnesota State shot 37.9% from the field to go with a 20-of-27 (74.1%) showing from the line.

Minnesota State will end their conference season this weekend at the Taylor Center against Upper Iowa and Winona State.

Header photo: Minnesota State forward Cameron Kirksey (21) dribbles the basketball during a game against Bemidji State University at the Taylor Center Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 in Mankato, Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)