| Nov. 26th, 2004 | 1 |
2 |
Final |
Records |
| #16 Northern State | 5-1, 0-0 NSIC | |||
| Minnesota State | 5-0, 0-0 NCC |
Marshall, Minn. --- Despite having to cope with three players fouling out, Minnesota State persevered for a 96-86 victory over #16 Northern State in a non-conference tilt in the second day of action at the SMSU/US Bancorp Classic. The game was a tight one, especially early on as there were seven ties and six lead changes throughout, nearly all of which came in the first 20 minutes of play as the Mavericks led from the 12:07 mark of the first half on. With the win, MSU improved to 5-0 on the season while the Wolves fell to 5-1.
The game started out entirely in MSU's favor as they ripped off a 10-1 run over the first 2:26 of play, with senior forward Jamel Staten (Minneapolis, Minn.) and junior swingman Luke Anderson (Bloomington, Minn.) scoring five points apiece. However, the Wolves came right back with nine straight points of their own to even the score at 10-10 at the 15:35 mark. Over the next nine minutes of play, the two schools traded baskets with neither club leading by more than four points.
With the score tied at 30-all with 6:46 remaining in the first half, the Mavericks rolled off a 10-0 run in just 2:21, with Anderson accounting for seven of the points in that stretch. NSU responded with six straight points of their own, and eventually went into the half trailing Minnesota State by a 46-42 margin.
Northern State scored the first four points of the second half to tie the score for the final time with 19:16 remaining. MSU responded with a 11-4 run, with State scoring 10 of the points in that stretch, to take a 57-50 lead. The Maverick lead hovered around seven for the next several minutes until NSU ripped off a 7-0 run to slice the deficit to 68-67 at the 10:45 mark. Once again though, Minnesota State counterpunched with a 7-0 run of their own to hold a 75-67 lead with 6:02 remaining.
The Wolves mounted one more rally attempt late in the game, getting the deficit down to two following yet another 7-0 run with 2:11 left in the game. But a three-pointer by Staten on the next possession, and excellent free throw shooting down the stretch in which MSU made 12-of-14 from the charity stripe, led the Mavericks to the victory over the ranked squad.
Game Story Courtesy Minnesota State Media Relations Office
 |
 |
Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
Text Only