The Minot State men’s basketball team logged its best defensive performance of its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference campaign last weekend with home wins over Upper Iowa and Winona State.

The Peacocks only hit 39 percent of their shots on Friday, while the Warriors scored 46 points while shooting a combined 32-percent clip Saturday afternoon.

“Last week defensively was as good as we’ve been in terms of attention to detail and following the scouting report about what we are trying to do on the defensive end,” MSU coach Matt Murken said. “We will need to do that again. We’re facing two high-powered offensive teams in their gyms.”

The Beavers tip off another weekend on the road today at Minnesota Duluth for an 8 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs are the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s fifth-best offense, tallying 82 points per game.

Duluth (13-5 overall, 9-3 NSIC) also boast two of the top six scorers in the league, as senior guard Pierre Newton and backcourt teammate Taylor Lavery pour in 19.3 and 18.4 points per game, respectively, while Newton also corrals 7.4 rebounds per contest.

“They can score. That’s for sure,” MSU junior guard Nate Mertens said. “They have guards that can score. We as guards will have to take that challenge defensively, and it’s going to be a big weekend for us defensively. It will just be a lot of individual 1-on-1, me-versus-you defense.

“A lot of their offense is give them the ball and tell them to go get a bucket, and they are good at that.”

Senior forward Brendon Pineda adds 14.2 points per game for the Bulldogs, and he along with Newton and Lavery all range anywhere from 6-foot-3 to 6-5. That kind of size presents a unique challenge for the Beavers (9-9, 4-8) on defense.

“They really rely on those three guys heavily,” Murken said. “They’re all really good players and they will play really small with those three guys out there. At times they will go very big as well. They have a different style of play than anyone we’ve played this year.”

Minot State counters with its own match-up problem.

Standing 6-6, Tyler Rudolph ranks eighth in the conference in scoring (18.2 points per game) and second in rebounds (8.7).

Senior guard Michael Pelo, through seven games, is averaging 10.3 points per contest. He’s fresh off a 22-point performance against Winona State, which saw him hit five treys.

Pelo’s presence on the court, both in practice and in games, has raised the level for MSU’s entire backcourt, Murken said.

“It’s nice to have those other guys who have some experience back,” Murken said. “It’s upped the intensity in practice little bit. Guys go at each other a little bit, which is good. But it also gives a comfort level that there’s not as much pressure on each guy. We have a little more depth now, that if somebody isn’t having the best game they don’t have to struggle though that. That’s goes for all of them. They feel someone else can step in and pick up the slack.”

What’s next?

Minot State travels to St. Cloud State on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tip.

And much like the Bulldogs, the Huskies (8-8, 5-7) can score, as they average 83 points per game.

“They are really one of the better scoring teams in the league,” Murken said. “They really play up and down. They push the basketball. They have two guys who are among the best scorers in the league. They’re guard oriented and shoot a lot of 3s and a lot of jump shots.”

The two players Murken mentioned are redshirt freshman guard Gage Davis – who’s third in the conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game – and junior guard Scottie Stone, who adds 19.2 points of his own per contest. Gage also grabs 7.4 rebounds per game.

Despite their five-game home winning streak, the Beavers are still in search of their first Northern Sun road win of the year. The Bulldogs – who’ve lost two straight – are currently second in the North Division, while the Huskies sit in fifth, just a game ahead of MSU.

“They’re both good teams,” Murken said. “Both are just ahead of us in the standings, so it’s a chance to go on the road and beat some teams and make up some ground that we lost when we couldn’t finish off some close games earlier in the year. North Division games are extra-big games.”

Said senior guard Dominique McDonald: “We just have to take that same energy we have at home and take it on the road with us.”

John Denega covers Minot High athletics, Minot State basketball and general assignments. Follow him on Twitter @JohnDenega_MDN.