CROOKSTON, Minn. --Minot State men's basketball team earned a sweep with a gritty 77-72 victory against the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles on the road Saturday in a back-and-forth game that neither led by more than five points.
The Beavers (4-4, 2-2) had four players score in double figures, led by redshirt senior
Melvin Newbern, who had a career-high 24 points with nine rebounds, and two steals.
Senior guard
Max Cody tacked on 13 points and five assists and senior forward
Kody Dwyer chipped in as well with 10 points.
Junior forward
Cam'ron Dunfee added 10 points on 66.7% (4-6) shooting including 2-4 from the three-point range to give the Beavers four scorers in double-digits and another impressive performance shooting the ball.
Dwyer pulled down three offensive rebounds to lead the Minot State offense which grabbed 12 boards and turned them into eight second-chance points.
How It Happened
Minot State started off strong, putting together a 38-29 lead heading into halftime. Minot State took advantage of seven offensive rebounds to score six second-chance points out of 38 total in the period.
The Beavers were outscored 43-39 in the second half. With 7:01 left in the second quarter, MSU led by 16 points but Minnesota-Crookston scored the next six out of eight baskets to cut the deficit to three points on an and-one by Josh Dillings and the subsequent free-throw.
MSU capitalized on a layup in the paint by Cody to stretch the lead to five 71-66 with 55 seconds remaining. From there it turned into a free-throw shooting contest and the Beavers were able to hang on to the five-point win, 77-72.
Game Notes
» Minot State never trailed on the way to a 77-72 victory.
» Neither team led by more than five points in the game.
» Minot State had a 33-19 edge on the boards in the win.
» Minot State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
» Newbern led the Beavers with a career-high 24 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
» The Beavers had four players score in double-digits and shot 52.7% (29-55) as a team from the field.
The Beavers are back in action on Friday, Jan. 29, when they will take on Bemidji State at 6 p.m. inside the MSU Dome.
