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THIS WEEK: The Minot State University men's basketball team will close out their 2013-14 regular season campaign as they travel to face the second and fourth ranked teams in the NSIC North Division. Friday Feb. 21 MISU will take on Minnesota State University Moorhead at 8 p.m. Then on Saturday Feb. 22, the Beavers will face Northern State University at 7 p.m.

RECORDS: The Minot State is 8-16 overall and 4-16 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. MSU Moorhead is currently 17-7 overall and 13-7 in the NSIC while Northern State is 16-10 overall with a 11-9 mark in Northern Sun competition.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his second season as head coach of the Beavers. He is 18-31 with Minot State and is 64-49 throughout his four year head coaching career. In his first season with the MISU, Murken increased the Beavers' win total by six from the previous year including the program's first ever win against a NCAA Division II ranked opponent (68-62, No. 19 St. Cloud State, Jan. 5, 2012). The Dragons are coached by Chad Walthall who is in his fourth season at the helm of his program. Walthall is 72-40 during his time with Minnesota State-Moorhead and has led the Dragons to 40 wins during the last two seasons (2011-13). In 2011-12, Walthall led the Dragons to their first NCAA Division II Tournament since 1965. The Wolves are coached by Paul Sather. Sather is also in his fourth season with Northern State and has compiled a 61-48 overall record during his tenure. Last season he led Northern State to a 20-11 record, the program's first 20-plus win season since 2007-08.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Minot State, Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University did not receive any votes in the Feb. 18 National Association of Basketball Coaches' Poll. However, two Northern Sun teams did receive votes as Winona State received 13 points in the poll while Minnesota State received 114 points as they are ranked No.18 in all of NCAA Division II.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers fell in their final two home games of the 2013-14 season as they lost to University of Sioux Falls 83-72 on Friday Feb. 14 and then to Southwest Minnesota State 75-72 on Saturday Feb. 15. In the loss to SMSU, Minot State erased a 19 point second half deficit and had the game tied at 72 before SMSU's Will Giddings hit a 3-point with just 1.1 seconds remaining. The Dragons split their games this past weekend as they lost on Friday night to Augustana College 92-88 before they defeated Wayne State College 95-84. In the loss to Augie, it marks the second time this season MSUM has scored over 85 points and lost. Northern State went 2-0 on the weekend as they also put up high offensive numbers. The Wolves beat WSC on Friday night 90-59 and then Augustana College on Saturday 85-78. NSU made 26 3-pointers on the weekend as they shot 52.0 percent from beyond the arc.

OVERALL SERIES: The Beavers have seen little success against this weekend's opponents throughout program history. Minnesota State-Moorhead holds a 19-9 all-time advantage over Minot State while Northern State holds a 24-7 advantage over the Beavers. Since joining the NSIC, Minot State has gone a combined 0-6 against Northern State and MSU Moorhead.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: Minnesota State University Moorhead has established themselves as one of the best offensive and rebounding teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Dragons rank second in the conference in scoring offense with 86.0 points per on the year. They also rank second in rebounding (39.4 rebounds per game) and rebounding margin as they outrebound their opponents by an average of 7.2 rebounds per game. MSUM has seven players averaging 7.8 points per game or more, led by Tarell Clark with 12.3 points per game. Clark also leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game. Junior Urbane Bingham is also having a solid year with 11.4 points per game in just 18.1 minutes per game. It will be essential that the Beavers keep MSUM off the offensive glass as they lead the conference with 13.6 offensive rebounds per game.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Similar to the Dragons, Northern State relies on a balanced scoring attack as six players average 7.6 or more points per game. Seth Bachand leads the team with 11.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game while Tydan Storrusten is averaging 11.1 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and a team-high 3.3 assists per game. Skye Warwick leads the NSIC in 3-point field goals made with 75 on the season and an average of 2.9 per game while Trent Zomer ranks fourth in the conference with 36 blocked shots on the year. The Wolves have struggled from the free throw line this season as they rank second to last in the NSIC with just a 68.2 percentage from the charity stripe. Over their last two games, NSU has been hot from the field as they shot 57.9 percent from the floor in their two wins last weekend.

LEADING AT HALFTIME: Getting off to a good first 20 minutes has shown to be a crucial indicator on the final outcome of the game for the 2013-14 Minot State men's basketball team. When entering the locker room with a lead, MISU is 7-1 on the season. When ending the first half tied or trailing their opponent, the Beavers are just 1-15 on the year.

SECOND HALF COMEBACK FALLS SHORT: With just 11 minutes, seven seconds remaining in the game against Southwest Minnesota State, Minot State trailed by 19 points. Over the next nine minutes, the Beavers went on a 30-11 run to tie the game at 70. Over the stretch Minot State limited the Mustangs to just eight field goal attempts with only three makes while also forcing SMSU into five turnovers.

WILLIAMS HEATS UP: Also leading the Beavers back from a 19 point deficit was the 3-point shooting on senior E.J. Williams (G, Raleigh, N.C.). Within a three minute span, Williams scored 11 points for MISU including going 3-of-3 on 3-point shots. Williams led Minot State with a game-high 26 points while also going 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

#VOTE4SAM AS THE "DARK HORSE DUNKER": Minot State University's Sam Johnson (F, Las Vegas, Nev.) is 1-of-16 contestants in the 2014 State Farm "Dark Horse Dunker" Competition. The online bracket style tournament is decided by fan's votes on their opinions of the best dunker. The winner of the tournament, who will compete at the NCAA Dunk Contest at the Final Four in Dallas, Texas, will be announced on March 17.

SHOOTING FROM DOWNTOWN: Over the last five games, Minot State has seen a significant increase in 3-point field goals made. During this stretch, MISU is averaging 10.4 3-pointers made per game, while on the season they are averaging just 6.6 3-point field goals made per game. Thomas Korf (Jr., G, St. Cloud, Minn.) leads the team with 57 3-pointers on the year while E.J. Williams (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) and Dominique McDonald (So., G, Raleigh, N.C.) have 37 and 34 makes this season.

KORF SHOWS CONSISTENCY: Over the last 11 games, Thomas Korf (Jr., G, St. Cloud, Minn.) has been on a hot streak from beyond the arc. In eight games over the 11 game stretch, he has hit three or more 3-point shots, good enough for a 48.4 shooting percentage. For his career, Korf has 175 3-point shots and 722 career points.

BY THE NUMBERS
513: Not even two years under his belt at Minot State, Dominique McDonald (So., G, Raleigh, N.C.) has shown his ability to score the basketball. McDonald has 513 career points entering the weekend while also dishing out 162 assists over 49 career games.

7: Balance and depth has been shown with Minnesota State University Moorhead as seven players have started 10 or more game this season.

59: Northern State has no problem getting to the free throw line as they had 50 free throw attempts over their last two games. The Wolves, however, were only able to convert on 39 of those attempts for a 66.1 free throw percentage.