THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes Dakota Athletic Conference road play as the Beavers travel to Mayville State Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Dakota State Saturday (6 p.m.).
RECORDS: The Beavers are 10-13 overall and 4-5 in Dakota Athletic Conference play. Mayville State comes into the weekend at 8-13 overall and 2-6 in conference play, while DaSU is 3-5 and 12-10.
COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Peter Stewart, who is in his first season with MSU. Stewart's record is 10 wins and 13 losses overall and with the Beavers. Justin Johnson is in his fourth season at Mayville and has a 41-66 record with the Comets and overall. Dakota State's Gary Garner is 23-28 in his second year with the Trojans and boasts a 396-344 career mark.
ON THE AIR: The games are broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play.
RANKINGS: None of the teams were ranked in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll.
RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers split two games last week, falling to Jamestown College 74-71 on Wednesday and topping Valley City State 65-52 Sunday. Mayville fell to travel partner Dakota State 73-64 on the road, but rebounded in nonconference play by beating Trinity Bible College 112-76. The Trojans won both its games as they defeated Mount Marty on the road 69-59 Saturday after defeating MaSU.
OVERALL SERIES: Minot State is now 40-32 overall with Mayville State dating back to 1976 and have topped the Comets eight straight times. MSU has a commanding lead over Dakota State 18-4 overall.
NOTING THE COMETS: Mayville State's leading scorer Shavontae Samuels has failed to score in double figures just once this season, netting a single point against NCAA Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead Nov. 19, 2010. Samuels, who leads the conference with a 21.57 average, has hit for 20 or more 13 times this season… Comets head coach Justin Johnson is a former Minot State assistant coach and has never beaten his former team. The Comets are 0-8 against Minot State, including one loss in the DAC postseason. Mayville hasn't defeated Minot since Jan. 27, 2006… Christian Harris leads the conference in steals per game, averaging 3.12 per game.
NOTING THE TROJANS: Dakota State's Mike Larson has been solid on offense and defense as he leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg.) and steals (2.71 spg.)… DaSU is hitting 46.1 percent of its shots on the season… The Trojans got off to a solid start, winning eight of their first 12 games. After a little swoon in early January where DaSU lost five-straight DAC games, the Trojans have won their past two league games and three straight overall.
UP AND DOWN: Minot State hasn't put together a large winning or losing streak this season. The Beavers, who are 10-13 overall, have two three-game losing streaks this season and have one three-game winning streak. The Beavers are 6-4 in their past 10 games including a 4-3 record in conference play.
BALANCE AT THE TOP: The Beavers have three guys averaging between 11.75 – Kal Bay (Sr., G, Chandler, Ariz.) and 11.39 – Jason West (Sr., G, Lompoc, Calif.) and six players scoring more than eight points per game. Of the 1,641 points scored this season by MSU, Bay, West, Anthony Enriquez (Jr., G, Tacoma, Wash.) and Nathaniel Packineau (Sr., G, Parshall, N.D.) have combined for 986.
BUILDING BLOCKS: Minot State is just six blocks away from reaching 100 in a season, which would mark the second straight time the Beavers would go over the 100-block plateau. MSU set a school record last year with 126 blocked shots, surpassing the 2004-05 team. This season, MSU junior Kelvin Fraser (F, Brooklyn, N.Y.) has already pushed past the single-season record and has 59, third in the country.
– GO BEAVERS –
