MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University was about as efficient on offense as it has been all season.

The Beavers knocked down 16 3-pointers, dishing out 22 assists on 30 made baskets as senior Nathan Mertens set a school record for assists in a game with 13 and hit 44 percent overall to earn a 79-63 win over Minnesota Duluth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Friday at the MSU Dome.

"We were pretty good on offense the entire game, we really passed the ball well," said MSU head coach Matt Murken said. "Nate said at the (Noon Luncheon Series) this week that some games you shoot it 15 times, some games two, but you are just trying to get the best shot for the team.

"How great was he at getting us shots tonight? He had 13 assists and no turnovers, that's got to be a record. We had great ball movement, played unselfishly the whole night and made them chase us a little."

Mertens had six assists just eight minutes into the game and 10 before the halftime break. He passed C.J DeWitty for the record on a feed to Luis Ricci Maia to give MSU a 22-point lead at 72-50 with 5:57 to play in the game.

"On all of those, I didn't make any of the shots so all the credit to the guys, they knocked them down," Mertens said. "It was just trying to get us in the right position for a good shot. Duluth was packing it in, almost daring us to shoot and it was good we got some to go down."

MSU (12-13 overall, 8-11 NSIC) led nearly the entire way, but didn't shake UMD (4-21, 3-16) until the second half. The Bulldogs outshot MSU from the field in the first half, making 57.7 percent from the field, but MSU outscored UMD 27-12 from beyond the arc making 9 of 18 triples in the first.

"I didn't like the way we guarded in the first half, we let them play comfortable and they shot 57 percent. That was the majority of our discussion in the break," Murken said. "Our defense was much better in the second half. We wanted to defend the arc. We are the conference leader in defending the 3 and they are one of the best at shooting them. We did a good job of making them bounce the basketball in the second half."

The Beavers outscored UMD 48-15 on 3s, limiting the Bulldogs to just 1 of 8 shooting in the second half. The 16 triples for the Beavers set a DII era school record for makes in a game.

"They were packing it in and we got some open shots. Nate and (Luis Ricci Maia) did a great job finding us and we knocked them down," said MSU junior Tyler Rudolph. "It was a fun atmosphere out there, our energy was up, but we were loose. We were just trying to have some fun."

Rudolph went about business as usual with 26 points and 21 rebounds – a new career high in boards. He was 10 of 19 from the field, 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, pulled down six offensive boards, added three assists and a steal to his totals.

UMD got a team-high 20 points from Brandon Myer and 12 from Luke Harris in the loss.

Along with Rudolph, Maia and Russ Davis both reached double figures, scoring 16 and 15 points respectively. Maia hit 4 of 6 3-pointers and Davis added 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc for MSU. Six different Beavers hit at least one 3-pointer in the game.

MSU kept pace with the University of Mary for a tie for the fourth and final home playoff spot with three games to play. The Beavers finish off their home NSIC regular season schedule with a huge matchup with St. Cloud State starting at 6 p.m. at the Dome.

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.