×

MSU men drop road affair against Northern State

ABERDEEN, S.D. — The Minot State men’s basketball team didn’t have an answer in slowing down Northern State’s offense. The Wolves (8-2, 4-0 NSIC) nabbed a 85-72 win Friday evening to remain undefeated in conference play and left the Beavers (5-8, 0-4 NSIC) still searching for their first conference win.

Statistics wise, many favorable categories were won by Minot State. The Beavers had a better shooting percentage (49.1 to 45.2 percent), made the same number of field goals (28) and even outrebounded the Wolves (34-32).

Northern State did make six more 3-pointers, but took 14 more shots behind the arc to do so.

The Wolves took over early on and held the lead for over 35 minutes. The score was last tied at 10-10 with 13:37 left in the first half before Northern State pulled away.

Northern State was up 44-30 at halftime and had its biggest lead of 23 points, 78-55, halfway through the second quarter.

Minot State used a 10-4 run in the final five minutes to make the final score more respectable.

The Beavers had three players finish with double figures in scoring: David Akibo (19), Max Cody (14) and Kyle Beisch (11). Dorian Aluyi also had eight points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.

Northern State also showcased a balanced attack with two players scoring 14 points (Bo Fries, Ian Smith) and two players scoring 13 points (Andrew Kallman, Jordan Belka). Smith nearly posted a triple double with seven rebounds and seven assists as well.

Next up, the Beavers return to the court this evening with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against Minnesota State Moorhead in Minnesota.

Comeback falls short for MSU women against Northern State

ABERDEEN, S.D. — Trailing 32-19 at halftime, the Minot State women’s basketball team nearly erased a 13-point deficit in the second half for its first NSIC win of the season.

Instead, Northern State (4-5, 2-2 NSIC) hung on Friday evening to deliver Minot State (5-5, 0-4 NSIC) another close defeat, 57-54, at the Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

The Beavers have lost their last two games by a combined four points. Four out of their five losses this season have been decided by six points or fewer.

MSU fell behind early on Friday against Northern State. The Wolves shot 50 percent from the floor in the first quarter to take an 18-9 lead.

The Beavers leading scorers, Madison Wald and Kari Clements, combined for all 10 Minot State points in the second quarter. Wald finished with a team-high 16 points before fouling out. Clements wasn’t far behind with 13 points, five rebounds and four steals.

With four points coming from Haley Hildenbrand, Mariah Payne and Wald in the third quarter, MSU outscored Northern State in the frame, 20-18.

The Beavers closed the gap immensely in the final 10 minutes with forward Reina Strand scoring all six of her points in the quarter. MSU got within two points on three different occasions but couldn’t pull even.

Brianna Kusler made three free throws in the final 10 seconds to keep Northern State on top. Kusler finished with a team-high 15 points for the Wolves, followed by Anika Fredrick (14) and Sara Tvedt (12).

MSU heads to Minnesota State Moorhead next for the second game of a back-to-back. The NSIC contest is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. with the men’s game to follow.

Follow the Minot Daily Sports on Twitter @MDN_Sports.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today