THIS WEEK: Minot State entertains a pair of Dakota Athletic Conference foes over a stretch of five days as MSU plays host to Jamestown College Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) and Valley City State Sunday (6 p.m.) at the MSU Dome.
RECORDS: The Beavers are 9-12 overall and 3-4 in Dakota Athletic Conference play. Jamestown College is second in the conference with a 5-2 record in DAC play and is 16-5 overall. VCSU is 1-6 in conference play and 7-14 overall.
COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Peter Stewart, who is in his first season with MSU. Stewart's record is 9 wins and 12 losses overall and with the Beavers. Jamestown College's head coach is Matt Murkin, who is 16-5 in his first season as a head coach. VCSU's Jeff Kaminsky is in his fourth season as head coach of the Vikings and is 70-68 with VCSU and 339-301 overall.
SPECIAL CELEBRATION: Minot State will celebrate its acceptance into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with cake, ice cream and refreshments in between the men's and women's game Wednesday. The event will take place on the third floor of the Dome and is free to everyone attending the game.
ON THE AIR: The games are broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live stats are provided both nights by DakStats3000 and can be accesses by clicking on the “Multimedia” tab at MSU's athletic homepage (www.msubeavers.com).
RANKINGS: Jamestown College is on the outside looking in as they are the top team in the receiving votes category of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. MSU and VCSU are not ranked.
RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers earned one of its biggest regular season wins in school history as they knocked off No. 3 Black Hills State on the road at Spearfish, S.D., to salvage a split on the weekend. MSU lost 90-74 at South Dakota Mines on Friday. Jamestown College won twice at home, slipping past Dakota State 75-74 and topping Mayville State 89-74 for its third-straight win. VCSU fell twice to the same opponents, losing 66-62 to Mayville and 79-70 to Dakota State, to lose its fifth straight game.
OVERALL SERIES: Minot State has a losing record against Jamestown College, trailing the series 34-45 dating back to 1976. MSU is 39-38 against VCSU dating back to the same year. The Beavers have modest losing streaks to both programs, dropping the past three games with JC and the past two to VCSU.
NOTING THE JIMMIES: Jamestown College has won 11 of its past 13 games, including two streaks of three and one of five games… JC's leading scorer CJ Peeters (14.8 ppg.) also leads the team in assists (3.29) and blocks (12). Peeters also is 17th in NAIA Division II in 3-point field goal percentage at 44.4 percent… Peeters has helped the Jimmies to a 38.9 percent shooting clip from beyond the arc as a team, good for eighth in the country… Travis Burley pulls down a team-leading average of 8.1 rebounds per game, including 3.1 offensive boards per game.
NOTING THE VIKINGS: Valley City State has hit a rough stretch, losing seven of its past nine games and five straight… The Vikings have failed to hit 80 points in 13 of its 14 losses… The Vikings are second to last in the conference in scoring per game at just over 70 points an outing, but has five players averaging either in double figures or just shy, led by Calvin Kraft's 15.7 scoring average… Kraft has taken 62 more 3-pointers than the rest of the Vikings team combined… Mike York leads the DAC and is third in NAIA Division II in assists per game at 5.57.
BAY SLAYS BIGGEST FOE: When Minot State senior Kal Bay's (G, Chandler, Ariz.) 3-pointer found its mark with 2.1 seconds remaining in 63-60 win over No. 3 Black Hills State, it marked the highest ranked opponent MSU's men's team has defeated in at least 10 seasons. MSU previously topped No. 7 Mayville State 96-88 at home in 2005-06 and defeated No. 7 Jamestown College 88-79 in 2000-01.
CAN WE GET A CALL: Minot State has been outshot from the free throw line by eight total free throws over 21 games, but in the past three road DAC games, the margin is 95-40. Dickinson State took 42 free throws compared to just 20 for MSU on Jan. 12 in Dickinson. This past weekend, Black Hills State attempted 18 more than MSU (23-5) and South Dakota Mines had a 30-15 edge in free throws attempted.
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING: MSU junior Anthony Enriquez (G, Tacoma, Wash.) is at the top of four major statistical categories for the Beavers. Enriquez, in his first season after transferring from Tacoma Community College, is the Beavers leading scorer at 12.24 ppg. He also is second in both rebounding (4.48) and steals (1.52) and is fourth on the team in assists (1.95). Enriquez
– GO BEAVERS –
