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MSU men can’t close

Moorhead outscores Beavers down the stretch to seal 82-74 win

The Minot State men's basketball team gave Minnesota State University Moorhead everything it could handle Friday night.

Unfortunately for the Beavers, the effort came up just short as Moorhead walked away with a 82-74 win at the MSU Dome.

"I think the last eight minutes or so we had a lot of opportunities to make big shots and didn't," MSU coach Matt Murken said. "They also got to the line more and we just had to make them score over us. We had multiple guys that were there to hit a big shot across the board, but we just couldn't get them to go."

Minot State took a 42-38 halftime lead, but couldn't contain Moorhead guard Aaron Lien in either half. Lien finished with 31 points in addition to nine rebounds and was an efficient 9-of-13 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Tanner Kretchman was also a thorn in the Beavers side, contributing 21 points in the win.

With the Dragons leading by three with 3:46 remaining, Lien fought his way to the basket and earned a three-point play to give Moorhead a 71-65 lead.

On the next possession, Tanner Kretchman buried a 3-pointer to sink the Beavers and extend the lead to nine points.

Trying to get back in the game, MSU guard Nathan Mertens hit a fade away jumper on the next possession to reduce the deficit to seven, then Luis Ricci Maia completed a three-point play of his own to reduce Moorhead's lead to 74-70 with 2:10 remaining.

The comeback effort was deflated when sharpshooter Russ Davis fouled out for the Beavers with 2:05 left and the Dragons hit free throws down the stretch to win.

Minot State was 6-of-21 from beyond the arc, but will wonder what could have been after several 3-point shots rimmed out for the Beavers late in the game.

"We had a stretch of missed opportunities and had some good clock management down the stretch," Murken said. "I thought some of them were down and in for sure, we had a couple in the corner with open looks and we just didn't make. To be a good team, you have to knock those babies down in crunch time."

Ricci Maia led the way for the Beavers with 21 points and five assists. Tyler Rudolph chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, Davis finished with 12 points and Mertens chipped in 10 points.

Moorhead shot 51 percent from the floor while MSU shot 46.3 percent. MSU has yet to win a game this season when allowing its opponent to shoot 50 percent or better. The Dragons outrebounded the Beavers 39-26.

MSU (7-8, 3-6 NSIC) takes on Northern State at 6 p.m. today at the MSU Dome, while Moorhead (12-3, 7-2 NSIC) faces the University of Mary at 6 p.m. today in Bismarck.

Garrick Hodge covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @Garrick_Hodge.