ABERDEEN, S.D. – Minot State University trailed by as many as 23 points late in the first half, but rallied to cut the lead to just two points with less than a minute to play in the game.

Northern State, however, got a key offensive rebound-put back and sank just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the charging Beavers.

MSU's rally fell just short as NSU won 91-87 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Friday in front of 3,104 fans at Wachs Arena.

"That was a hard fought basketball game," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "The slow start was frustrating, but we have a bunch of guys that believe in each other no matter what. Early in the season it's all about growth and I saw a lot of that in our team tonight."

The Beavers (4-4 overall, 0-2 NSIC) trailed for all but the first 25 seconds of the game and were down 20-10 with just over 10 minutes to play before halftime. NSU stretched that to its largest lead, 41-18 on a Braxton Elliott 3-pointer with 4:43 to play in the half.

Minot State started to chip away from there on out, going on a 20-9 run to end the half, started by a Nathaniel Moore layup and capped by a jumper in the paint by Brandon Green just before the halftime buzzer.

Still, the Wolves (5-3, 1-1) maintained a double figure lead in the second half until the Beavers made a move anchored by its defense. The Beavers held NSU without a field goal from the 11:14 mark until 5:54 to play in the game, cutting a 15-point lead to just four on another basket by Moore.

MSU whittled it down to three on a 3-pointer by Tyler Rudolph with 2:09 to play and to two on a three-point play by Nathan Mertens with just 49 seconds remaining.

But the Wolves pulled down a key offensive board – one of 12 offensive rebounds in the game for NSU – after MSU forced a miss with just 22 seconds to play. Logan Doyle pulled down the rebound and scored to push it back to a two possession game.

The teams combined to shoot 70 free throws as they combined 60 fouls. NSU was 34 for 41 from the line, while Minot State sank 21-of-29.

Doyle had a big game for NSU off the bench, scoring 23 points and adding six rebounds, while DJ Pollard added a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Tyler Rudolph knocked down four 3-pointers – many coming in the late-game comeback – to score a game-high 27 points. He added seven rebounds and two assists for the Beavers. Moore scored a season-high 20 points and added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal and Luis Ricci Maia scored 14 and dished out six assists.

MSU will look to get its first NSIC win on the season as they finish off a three-game road trip to start the conference year playing at Minnesota State Moorhead Saturday starting at 6 p.m.

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.