Box Score MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minot State University couldn't make up all of the ground on Minnesota State-Moorhead.

The Dragons jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. The rest of the game saw Minot State battle back, getting to as close as five with less than a minute to play

But in the end, the early burst was too much for the Beavers to handle as MSU-Moorhead held on to win 79-71 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Saturday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.

“There is a lot we need to learn from tonight,” said MISU head coach Matt Murken. “Some of it from the poor first half we played and some of it from the the aggressive second half. We need to embrace the identity of our program which is toughness, defense and unselfish play. When we do those things, we are a very dangerous group.

"I know I would prefer to enter the postseason wit hsome danger around us.”

The lead ballooned to as much as 22 points for the Dragons (18-10 overall, 12-10 NSIC) and it looked like MSU-M was going to cruise. But the Beavers (10-16, 9-13) kept chipping away.

Minot State used two late runs to get back into contention. Thomas Korf (So., F, St. Cloud, Minn.) sandwiched two 3-pointers around a Josh Johnson (Sr., F, Lufkin, Texas) layup during a quick 8-1 run to cut it under double figures with 2:30 to play. E.J. Williams (Jr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) then went on a quick 4-1 run with the two layups to get it to six.

“We gave ourselves a shot, but we probably wasted too much time in the first half,” Murken said. “I thought we defended pretty well in the second half. We forced some turnovers and that led to transition baskets.”

But the Dragons, who were shooting less than 50 percent from the foul line over the first 39 minutes, went 9 for 10 in the final minute – all by Anthony Tucker – to seal the win.

Minot State never really found the range as they went 34.2 percent from the floor and only 6 for 22 on 3-pointers, but it was a vast improvement from the 22 percent shooting in the first half. While MSU-M cooled off a bit, the Dragons still shot 50 percent from the field.

Tucker led all scorers with 20 points, hitting three 3-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws to pace MSU-M. Alex Novak added 14 points and 15 rebounds. Tyler Vaughan finished with 14 and Ben Figini netted 12 in the win.

Minot State's Johnson led the Beavers with 16 points and added 10 rebounds. Dominique McDonald (Fr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) added 14 points and four rebounds, while Anthony Enriquez (Sr., G, Tacoma, Wash.) finished with 12 points and Chris East (Jr., G, Toronto, Ontario) added 10. Minot State committed just three turnovers in the game.

The Dragons finished fourth in the NSIC North, while Minot State is the No. 5 seed heading into the NSIC tournament. The Beavers will be on the road for the first round of the tournament playing at Upper Iowa Wednesday.

– GO BEAVERS –