Photos courtesy of Sean Arbaut/Minot State athletics Minot State forward Tyler Rudolph (24) converts a layup during a men's college basketball game Saturday at the MSU Dome.

A career night from junior forward Tyler Rudolph was exactly what the Minot State men’s basketball team needed.

Rudolph scored 33 points — a career-high — and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 84-72 win against Minnesota Crookston Saturday at the MSU Dome in Minot. The double-double was the ninth on the season for Rudolph.

With the win, it gives the Beavers their first weekend Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference sweep of the season, as they defeated Bemidji State 79-71 Friday. It also put them in a fourth-place tie with the University of Mary in the NSIC North, as each has a 6-8 conference record.

“We needed a weekend with two wins badly,” MSU coach Matt Murken said. “It’s the time of the season where you have to build momentum. Our two games this weekend were similar to other games in the year that we didn’t finish off, but we made winning plays down the stretch.”

The Beavers were firing on all cylinders in the first half and raced out to a 39-28 lead at the break due to shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

Before halftime, Rudolph passed MSU hall-of-famer and former Louisiana State University coach Dale Brown on the Beavers’ all-time scoring list by converting an and-one.

Brown scored 1,140 points in his career with the Beavers from 1953-1957. Rudolph sits at 1,162 career points.

“That’s pretty special to be put in the same sentence as that guy,” Rudolph said. “He accomplished a lot throughout his basketball career obviously and I’m just thankful to be put in the same sentence as him.”

The Golden Eagles opened the second half on a 10-0 run, but the Beavers responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 46-36 lead. Crookston crawled back into the game a couple times, but could never tie or take the lead in the second half.

“We’ve been working on situational plays a lot and our guys have been executing them,” Murken said. “We just said ‘Hey, let’s break the rest of the season down to just 29 days, starting (Friday).’ After that, that’ll take us through the first round of the playoffs whether we’re home or whether we have to go on the road.”

The Beavers shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the game and held Crookston to 41.8 percent shooting.

“I think we can score it pretty well and we’ve been consistent in that,” Murken said. “Once we get in rhythm we’re tough to guard. We’ve held them to low 40s from the floor this weekend and if we can do that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to be successful.”

Nathaniel Moore had 14 points for the Beavers, while Russ Davis chipped in 11. Luis Ricci Maia had nine points and nine assists, which tied the MSU single-game assists record in the Division II era.

“Having Tyler Rudolph and a great shooter like Russ makes it pretty easy to get assists,” Ricci Maia said. “They work extra hard and take extra shots every day. When I’m playing, I just think about what’s the best shot for them and try to create that.”

MSU (10-10, 6-8 NSIC) takes on Winona State at 8 p.m. Friday on the road.

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