THIS WEEK: Minot State begins the New Year with a Saturday-Sunday Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference double header taking on Bemidji State Saturday and Minnesota Crookston Sunday with both games slated for 6 p.m. starts.

RECORDS: The Beavers enter the weekend with a 5-7 record and are 0-6 in the Northern Sun. BSU is an even 3-3 in the Northern Sun and is 6-4 overall, while UMC comes into the weekend with a 3-7 overall record and a 1-5 mark in NSIC play.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his fourth season as head coach of the Beavers. He's compiled a 37-58 record during his first two seasons with Minot State and is 83-74 throughout his six year head coaching career. In his first season with the MSU, 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). Before his time at Minot State, Murken was the head coach at the University of Jamestown where he compiled and impressive 46-16 overall record and was named Dakota Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012. Mike Boschee is the head coach at Bemidji State, beginning his fourth year with the team and is 50-44 with the Beavers. He spent nine seasons at Central College in Iowa before taking the job at BSU. UMC's head coach is Dan Weisse, who begins his second season with the Golden Eagles. He is no stranger to the NSIC having worked previously at MSU Moorhead. Weisse is 10-27 overall as a head coach all at UMC.

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 – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: None of the three teams competing at the MSU Dome were ranked in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Top 25 or in the D2SIDA MBB DII Media Regional Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State snapped a six-game losing streak in a big way, demolishing Crossroads College 101-66 at the Dome Dec. 19. MSU topped the century mark for the first time since scoring 101 in a 107-101 double overtime loss at Upper Iowa last January. The Beavers had four players score in double figures, paced by Tyler Rudolph's (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) 16 points and all 11 players who saw action scored. Bemidji State edged travel partner Minnesota Crookston 72-65 in Bemidji Dec. 18 in the lone game for both teams. William Harvey led all scorers with 28 points and added 13 rebounds in the win for BSU. He was 11 for 13 from the field for the Beavers. C.J. Polk scored 22 points to lead three Golden Eagles in double figures in the loss.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: MSU trails 8-5 all-time against Bemidji State, splitting last season with each team winning at home. MSU is just 2-5 against BSU since moving to NCAA Division II and 2-4 in NSIC play. Minot State has had better success against Minnesota Crookston, sporting a 16-5 all-time record with a perfect 6-0 record in NSIC play. MSU has a seven-game winning streak going overall against UMC, dating back to its NAIA days, with the Golden Eagles' last win in the series coming Nov. 28, 2004.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State swept both UMC and BSU in NSIC games late in the 2014-15 season last year. The Beavers knocked off UMC 69-52 and snapped a two-game losing streak to BSU with an 84-76 win. Everett Robinson led MSU with 17 points, while Lamont Prosser added 14 points and nine rebounds in the win over UMC. Crookston's Tyler West scored 11 in the loss. In the win over Bemidji State, MSU's Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) had his breakout game during his freshman campaign with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 11 shooting. It was enough to hold off Christian Pekarek's 24 points for BSU.

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: Bemidji State has had seven different players lead or tie for the lead in scoring in 10 games this season… Ben Best is the only BSU player averaging double figures as he leads the team with a 13.2 ppg. Average and is the team's top rebounder at 6.6 per game… While the Beavers only have one averaging double figures, they have six players scoring 7.1 points per game or better… William Harvey is second to Best in scoring (9.4 ppg.) and rebounds (6.2 rpg.)… DJ Anderson and Christian Pekarek have combined for 63 assists and just 27 turnovers… BSU has a solid 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team, dishing out 147 assists on the season… In six NSIC contests, the Beavers have not reached 80 points in any game and have been held to a low of 61… Calvin Harrington and Best each have 21 offensive rebounds to pace BSU.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston has played 10 players in eight or more games, but has done with the same starting five in nine of 10… Derrick Redd and C.J. Polk are 1-2 on the team in scoring with Redd leading the team with a 12.6 average… The two have similar numbers from the field with Redd hitting 49 field goals and Polk 42, but Redd has 19 3s, compared to just eight for Polk, while Polk holds a 31-9 advantage from the free throw line… UMC is getting outrebounded by 7.2 caroms per game and the Golden Eagles leaders, Nate Lorenz and Gable Smith, average just 4.3 each. Smith is the only UMC player in double figures in offensive rebounds through 10 games with 11 total… Kobe Critchley leads the team in assists with 27… Gable has an impressive 15 blocked shots in just 20.6 minutes per game off the bench… UMC and its opponents have hit exactly the same amount of 3-pointers – 78 – but the Golden Eagles have taken 27 more to get there as the Minnesota Crookston gives up 42.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

I KNIGHT HIM 'SIR MATTHEW': MSU senior Matthew Ward-Hibbert (G, Nottingham, England) has been sidelined with an injury much of the season, but made the most of his first chance to hit the hardwood in the team's final game before the holiday break. Ward-Hibbert came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points, hitting 4 of 6 from the field and 3 of 5 on 3-pionters and added five rebounds and three assists in the win. The 11 points nearly doubled his career totals as he had 14 points entering the game.

GETTING OVER THE HUMP: Minot State has continued to get better within the Northern Sun – the Beavers just don't have the wins to show for it. Since the calendar turned last season to 2015, MSU has gone 6-17 in conference games including the NSIC Postseason Tournament at the end of last season. Of those 17 losses, 10 of those have been by nine points or less and six have been by four or less.

SLIM SETBACKS  

Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Margin
Jan. 9, 2015	Northern State	H	79-78	1
Jan. 23, 2015	Minnesota Duluth	H	60-56	4
Feb. 21, 2015	Minnesota Duluth	A	83-80	3
Dec. 11, 2015	Sioux Falls	A	66-65 OT	1
Dec. 12, 2015	Southwest Minnesota State	A	86-84	2
Dec. 18, 2015	University of Mary	A	72-71	1

DOM WATCH CONTINUES: MSU's Dominique McDonald (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) continued to move up the list towards 1,000 career points as he finished the week at 940 overall. He continues to be a solid offensive threat, averaging 9.5 points per game through the first 12 of the season, just under his 10.1 career average, and has dished out 41 assists, tying him for the team lead. He is just 53 assists away from 400 for his career and just 34 rebounds for No. 300.

PELO IS BACK: Senior guard Michael Pelo (Charleston, Utah) made a name for himself as a long-range shooter last season, hitting 61 3-pointers and shooting 41.8 percent from beyond the arc in his first season in a Beavers' uniform. But he was absent from MSU's first 11 games of the year as he had to sit out the first semester due to the NCAA's total semester rule. Pelo started his career at NCAA Division I Weber State and played at Western Wyoming before coming to MSU. He only had one semester of eligibility remaining coming into the season, so he sat out the first half of the year but will be eligible the rest of the way. He scored four points in nine minutes against Crossroads College.

BY THE NUMBERS

.857: Career free throw shooting percentage for Michael Pelo (Sr., G, Charleston, Utah). With his 2 for 2 performance against Crossroads, Pelo has hit 36 of 42 attempts in two seasons.

13: Steals for Nathan Mertens (Jr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.). Mertens already surpassed his career mark of 11 set last season and has 32 for his career.

440: Career points for sophomore Tyler Rudolph (F, Bismarck, N.D.) in just his first 41 games. Rudolph leads the team with a 16.9 points per game average and is well on his way to the prestigious 1,000 point, 500 rebound club as he pulled down his 249th career board on the road at the University of Mary.