Men’s basketball splits road trip
The Minnesota State men’s basketball team traveled west this weekend to take on Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. First up on the schedule were the Mustangs, who had previously beat the Mavericks earlier this season in overtime 69-71.
Southwest Minnesota State brought the offense to the first eight minutes of action, building their first double-digit lead of the game going up 20-10 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half. The Mavs brought it back, however, eventually tying the game at 33 with 3:31 until intermission.
The Mustangs were able to squeak out a lead before heading into half, sending MSU into the intermission down 38-36. The first ten minutes of the second half were tight, seeing both teams go into the final ten minutes within one point of each other.
The Mustangs eventually pulled away with the lead and led by as many as 11 before finishing off the Mavericks by a score of 71-81.
Sophomore guard Quincy Anderson led the Mavs with 24 points and seven rebounds with sophomore Malik Willingham also putting in his fair share of work to net 15 points.
MSU shot well from the field, shooting 47.5 percent, but it was not enough to overpower the Mustangs’ scoring runs.
The Mavs then moved onto Saturday where they traveled to Sioux Falls to face the Cougars. The Mavericks also played the Cougars earlier in the season, where they took home the 81-63 win at the Taylor Center in Mankato.
MSU started off Saturday’s game hot, jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes of play before the Cougars got on the board. Sioux Falls was able to cut the lead down to three by the midpoint of the first half, putting them down just 22-19 in the remaining minutes.
The Sioux Falls Cougars eventually took over the lead with just over five minutes remaining and survived three scoring ties before finally heading into halftime with a 38-35 lead over the Mavericks.
As the second half kicked off, Minnesota State began scoring again while retaking the lead with 16:34 to go.
The next five minutes were tightly contested, but the Mavs developed a 14-6 scoring run afterwards to go up nine.
The Cougars were unable to bring back the contest, eventually falling to the Mavericks for the second time this season 77-69.
Anderson led the charge again in scoring for MSU, putting up 25 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Harrison Braudis had himself a night, scoring a season-high 16 points while Willingham added nine points of his own.
With the weekend split the Mavericks sit at 14-7 overall this season while holding a 7-7 record inside the NSIC.
The Mavs now return home where they will face Wayne State and Augustana at the Taylor Center in Mankato on Friday and Saturday of this week.
Header Photo: Sophomore guard Quincy Anderson (10) nearly topped the 50-point mark this weekend, scoring 49 points in two games while also hauling in 16 rebounds.