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Minot State 103, Montana Western 85

Key play: MSU's Nathaniel Packineau's 3-pointer with 12:06 to play in the second half giving the Beavers a 70-60 lead.

Key player: MSU's Jason West, 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds.

Key stat: Beavers make 13 3-pointers

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Minot State University was in nearly the same position three days ago at Montana-Western.

The Beavers made a mini run at the start of the second half to erase a Bulldogs' halftime lead.

Monday saw Western explode from the tie in the second half to blow out MSU.

Wednesday it was the Beavers turn.

Minot State outscored UM-W 6-37 in the second half to earn a 103-85 win in nonconference NAIA men's basketball Wednesday at the MSU Dome.

"We talked about two things at half. I didn't see a lot of toughness from them (Western) as we both headed into the locker room - we talked about who wanted it more and we needed some rotation on the press," MSU head coach Mike Hultz said. "I thought we came out in the second and played hard and got some rotation on the press and got some turnovers. One turnover feeds to another one."

The turnaround was fueled by a host of Beaevers. MSU turned a 48-42 deficit into a 62-52 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers by Bojan Janjic and four points apeice by Mister Carney and Shaun Johnson. MSU took a 70-60 lead with 3s by Jason West and Nathaniel Packineau.

"We talked to each other and coach said it was there if we wanted it. I guess we took it," West said. "We just took better care of the ball in the second. Made better jumps stops and kick out and made good decisions."

West was one of the keys as the junior point guard not only scored 16 points and dished out five assists, but was steady with and without the ball at point.

"Jason as been good for a couple of games," Hultz said. "We was awesome at Rocky (Mountain College) and can be good without scoring a lot. Tonight we got some scoring too."

"I feel really good - more and more comfortable," the junior transfer said. "I fit in great with these shooters around me."

West's biggest series came as the Beavers held a 62-60 lead with 13:48 to play. He hit a 3-pointer to up the lead to 65-60 and then after a Carney driving hoop, hit Packineau for a 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to 10 at 72-62.

"We hit a couple of 3s and that made playing defense that much easier," West said. "We trusted in the press a little more and boxed out better (than at Dillon, Mont.). Not giving up every offensive rebound was big."

The second-half surge didn't look eminent as MSU looked sluggish early. Minot State was shorthanded as starter Kenneth McCoy sat nursing an injury and junior forward Nick Turner was suspended for violating a team rule.

"I thought both looked sluggish for the first five minutes, but they got going earlier than us," Hultz said. "We were passive. I think this is a good win for us against a good team. It feels good to get some momentum going into the little break and we feel we beat a very good team. We've got a nice nonconference record and that could help us in March."

The Beavers were solid in the rebounding game. Western held a 53-43 lead and grabbed 19 offensive boards, but MSU countered with 15 offensive rebounds behind six from Johnson.

"We were better. I thought we were more aggressive on the glass," Hultz said. "Shaun has to be an athletic presence around the glass. He was much more effective in the second."

The Bulldogs (8-2) pushed to the lead behind 12 points from JaRon Brown and 40.5 percent shooting. But MSU held Western to just 36.7 percent in the second half. MSU, meanwhile, hit 52.4 percent in the second.

Brown finished with 16 points and was joined by Brandon Lawson and Brandon Brown with 16 apeice for high marks for the Bulldogs. JaRon Brown also finished with a game-high 14 rebounds.

MSU (7-2) had grea balance as Johnson and Carney finished with 18 each. Packineau, Janjic and West all hit for 16, while Neil Packineau and Demetrius Malone pitched in with nine and eight respectively. Johnson added 11 rebounds and four blocks to his point totals, while Carney had seven assists, five steals and five rebonds for MSU.