MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University had five players score at least nine points as MSU won its second nonconference game in as many nights, topping Dickinson State 85-73 in NCAA Division II men's basketball Wednesday at the Minot State Dome.

The Beavers (2-2 overall) shot 50.8 percent from the field and knocked down 9 of 18 3-pointers to maintain a comfortable double-digit lead much of the game.

"We were pretty consistent the whole night and that's what you are looking for as a coach," MSU head coach Matt Murken said. "I'd rather be consistently good than great at times, bad at times. I'm not sure we were great much tonight, but consistent for most of the 40 minutes."

The Beavers grabbed a 39-34 halftime lead, hitting five 3-pointers in the half. MSU limited Dickinson State (3-2), who played the game as an exhibition, to just 12 first-half field goals and 37.5 percent shooting.

But it was the second half where MSU finally took complete control. Steven Jovanovic, Luis Ricci Maia and Tyler Rudolph combined for 31 of the Beavers' 46 points to help MSU push the lead to double figures.

"Steve hasn't played his best basketball over the past couple of games and has averaged 12 points and three rebounds during that time, so that shows what we can get from him," Murken said. "The past two nights, he has stepped up his game in the second half."

Rudolph put together another great outing, scoring 26 points on 8 of 13 shooting for his fourth-straight 20-plus game to start the season. He added nine rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal. Maia poured in 16 points and dished out eight assists and Jovanovic finished with 12 points and four rebounds.

DSU got 18 points and nine rebounds for Marcus White, while Gilberto Shojgreen added 15 and Jerry Shevlin 14 in the loss.

Along with MSU's three double-figure scorers, the Beavers got great contributions from Russ Davis, Trevor Rothstein, Nathaniel Moore, Brandon Green and Channing Reed off the bench. Davis hit three 3-pointers for nine points and added six rebounds, Rothstein scored nine and finished with four rebounds, Moore had five points, four rebounds and two assists, Green finished with three assists and Reed hit his only shot of the night.

"I thought our bench played better tonight that in the past few nights," said Murken. "Some of the guys gave us energy, some points, some rebounds, but we got value from all those guys."

MSU continues a homestand with a nonconference game Sunday at 2 p.m. against Mayville State.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.