Northern State defeat Mavs in Sweet 16

After finishing with a 24-10 record, the basketball team will be watching the rest of the tournament on the couch

Jake Rinehart
Staff Writer

The Maverick basketball season has come to an end, as the Northern State Wolves defeated the Mavericks in the NCAA Sweet 16 by a final score of 90-83.

The No. 8 Mavericks made their first trip to the Sweet 16 since the 2013-2014 season.

Prior to the start of the game, news broke that Cameron Kirksey would not be playing for the Mavericks as he would be ruled out with a knee injury.

The game was back and forth from the opening tip. To make things even more frustrating, both teams struggled with foul trouble in the first half. Minnesota State committed 10 personal fouls in the first half, while Northern State committed 13.

The Mavericks would not let the game get out of their grasp early, as they would come back and take the lead late in the half. The Mavericks would have their largest lead of the game with two minutes before halftime as they held a three-point lead.

The teams would fight it out leading into halftime with Northern State leading by a score of 43-42.

Carlos Anderson had an incredible first half for the Mavericks, as he would come off the bench to score 14 points for them in the first half alone.

Chris Kendrix was also making his presence known in the first half, as he entered the locker room with six points and five rebounds.

The Wolves were led by Ian Smith, who scored 13 points in the first half.

The second half would mimic the first in that it would be a close game with lots of whistles being blown. The Mavericks would commit 16 fouls in the second half, while Northern State would only commit six.

The demise of the Mavericks would primarily come from missed shots. With 12 minutes remaining, the Mavericks began going cold. Minnesota State would start to miss about every other shot, which prevented them from keeping pace with NSU.

With only 4 minutes to play, the Mavericks found themselves down five points without any fouls to give and the momentum against them. This would be an uphill battle if the Mavericks were to win.

Minnesota State would pull within two-points thanks in part from a Chris Kendrix free throw, as the clocked ticked down to the 3-minute mark.

Northern State would control the clock in the final minutes, as they would get consecutive offensive rebounds, forcing the Mavericks to foul to stop the clock.

The lead would only grow as the game clock dwindled down to zero, as Northern State would get the 90-83 victory.

Carlos Anderson ended the night with 21 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Kevin Krieger added an additional 13 points for the Mavs.

Charlie Brown, Chris Kendrix, and Isaac Kreuer played their final game for the Mavericks as well. Charlie Brown finished his final game for the Mavericks with 14 points, two rebounds and one assist. Chris Kendrix would end with 11 points and 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Isaac Kreuer added an additional eight points and three rebounds for Minnesota State.

Brown has been the leader for the Mavericks for the past two seasons. In his final post-game interview with head coach Matt Margenthaler and teammate Carlos Anderson, Brown said that he is most proud of the foundation that the team has built.

“We have built something really special over the last few years,” said Brown. “We have completely reshaped this program and I am proud to be a part of it. These guys have something really great in place and will have a lot of success in the future with this great coaching staff.”

Photo: Suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Northern State Wolves, the Mavericks will now have to watch the rest of the games at home, and contemplate what went right, and what went wrong for the Mavs. (Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter)