Mavs Drop weekend series; Holt and Kramer earn Season-highs
Daniel McElroy ® Sports Editor |
Photo by Mansoor Ahmad ® Media Director |
For the first time this season, the Minnesota State men’s basketball team got swept by the Upper Iowa Peacocks in two high-scoring contests.
The Mavs started the first game strong and kept their momentum throughout the entire game. Although the first half saw a lot of exchanges in baskets made, the Mavs held the lead ever since Devonte Thedford made a layup to give MSU the 16-14 lead. They continued this lead into halftime with a score of 53-45.
At the half, Thedford and Malik Willingham led the Mavericks in points with 11 each, and Quincy Anderson and Brady Williams had nine a piece.
MSU kept the momentum in their favor and extended their lead to as much as 10 points, with 4:28 remaining in the half, which is exactly when things went wrong for the Mavericks.
Jareese Williams of the Upper Iowa Peacocks made three consecutive three-pointers, going on a 9-0 run single-handedly, and cutting the Mavs lead to just one point.
The Mavericks and Peacocks went back and forth for the last two minutes of the game including five lead changes. UIU grabbed a two point lead following a jumper and free throw from Joe Smoldt. The Mavericks gained possession for one last chance with nine seconds left in the game. Thedford passed the ball to Anderson to get the final shot off, but was double teamed and couldn’t get a good look, ending the game in the closest contest MSU has had all season long.
MSU had very spread out scoring with five Mavericks scoring double digit points. The effort was led by Thedford with 18 points followed by Anderson and Ryland Holt with 16 points each.
UIU started Saturday’s game with a little more jump in their step, taking the lead immediately, and went on a 12-4 run to extend their lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Peacocks kept this lead and went into the locker rooms with a score of 49-36.
Unfortunately, MSU could not manage to find a way back into the game, and dropped their second game of the weekend for the first time in the season.
Just like the previous day, the scoresheet for Minnesota State was spread out with six Mavericks reaching double digit points including Holt and Kelby Kramer each earning season-highs with 18 and 15 points, respectively.
The Mavericks fell to 8-6 overall with a NSIC record of 7-5, while the Peacocks improved to 9-5 on the season, with a conference record of 7-3.
MSU will close out their season this weekend at Concordia-St. Paul.