Another weekend is in the books for Minot State University (MSU) men’s basketball and they continue to find their winning ways in another back-and-forth instant classic that ended with the 75-72 home win.

Caleb Van De Griend notched a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds to help the Beavers take down the Minnesota State Mavericks 75-72 at home Saturday, January 4, at the MSU Dome.

In addition to Van De Griend’s solid output, the Beavers (17-0, 8-0 NSIC) were led by Jalen Cook, who had 19 points, and by Jaxon Gunville who added 14 points. In a matchup that felt like anyone’s game, Cook and the Beavers were still able to keep things close as Mankato could never pull away.

“We don’t give up. I feel like we didn’t play our best most of the game, but we stuck together, and we were able to pull away. It was an ugly win,” Cook stated.

Early in the contest, Gunville hit his 262nd career 3-point field goal, surpassing Thomas Korf who had 261 for the most 3-point field goals made all-time in a single career. He now sits with 264 after the game against Mankato.

Along with Van De Griend’s two offensive rebounds, Minot State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down ten boards that resulted in ten second chance points.

After jumping out to a 27-24 advantage, MSU went on a 6-0 run with 7:21 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Cook, to increase its lead to 33-24. The Beavers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 39-36 advantage. MSU took advantage of five offensive rebounds to score six second chance points out of 39 total in the period.

Minnesota State proceeded to take a 72-68 lead before MSU went on a 7-0 run to seize a 75-72 lead with 2-seconds to go in the contest, The Beavers held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 75-72 win. MSU got out on the break in the period, scoring nine fast break points.

MSU Men 113,

Winona State 104 (F/3OT)

The MSU men’s basketball team went into halftime trailing Winona State 43-36 but fought back from the deficit to tie the game at 73-73, force overtime and eventually knock off the Warriors 113-104 at home Friday, January 3, at the MSU Dome.

The Beavers had five players score in double figures, led by Caleb Van De Griend, who had an impressive double-double with 33 points and 22 rebounds. Jalen Cook tacked on 27 points and Ayouba Berthe helped out with 19 points and six rebounds.

MSU grabbed 49 rebounds in Friday’s game compared to Winona State’s 46, led by Van De Griend’s 22 boards which became an all-time single-game record surpassing Tyler Rudolph who had 21 on February 10, 2017. The Beavers also cleaned up the offensive glass, turning 12 rebounds into 12 second chance points.

The MSU defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Friday’s game, forcing 14 Winona State turnovers while committing 12. Those takeaways turned into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor. Van De Griend’s three steals led the way individually for the Beavers.

The fight and the grit that Van De Griend and the Beavers show continues to be evident.

“We’re a gritty team. No one cares about their own stats. No one cares about how they performed individually. We just want to win…we know what it takes. We’ve won games in overtime, we’ve won games by 30, and we’ve had close games. You keep going until the buzzer goes,” Van De Griend said.

After jumping out to a 14-13 advantage, MSU went on a 5-0 run with 12:52 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Jaxon Gunville, to increase its lead to 19-13. The Beavers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 43-36.

After intermission, MSU kept the Warriors from increasing their lead before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Van De Griend’s jumper, to even the score at 57 all with 7:44 to go in the contest. Neither team was able to finish the game in regulation and the contest headed to overtime tied at 73-73. Minot State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting 7 shots from deep to score 21 of its 37 points.

MSU kept it close before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Van De Griend’s layup, to seize a 103-97 lead with 3:33 to go in the period. The Beavers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 113-104 win.