Box Score RAPID CITY, S.D. – Minot State University had the start it wanted Saturday on the road.

But the Beavers couldn't sustain it.

MSU was outscored 47-30 in the second half by South Dakota Mines and the Hardrockers pulled away down the stretch to win 89-72 in nonconference NCAA Division II men's basketball at the King Center.

“I was very proud of how hard we played tonight and we had a good start,” said MSU head coach Peter Stewart. “I thought we should have been ahead by 12 or 14 at half, but instead it's tied. They hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and it kind of snowballed from there.”

MSU (3-19 overall) shot the ball very well in the first half, hitting 16-of-31 shots, but allowed the Hardrockers to be better. SDM hit 15-of-23 shots in the first half and was even better in the second half going 17 for 26. For the game, the Hardrockers missed just 17 shots from the floor.

But for Stewart, the two biggest areas that made a difference in the game were points in the paint and points off of turnovers. MSU was outscored 16-2 on turnovers, committing 20 miscues in the game, and was outscored 28-18 in the paint.

“Those are two big areas we don't want to lose and we lost both of them,” he said. “That was a big difference.”

Nathan Jacobson led all scorers with 27 points and had four steals for Mines. He was joined in double figures by Tanner Friesen (14), Michael Dietz (13), Caleb Shockman (13) and Kyle Doerr (10). Friesen finished with five rebounds and four assists for the Hardrockers.

Thomas Korf (R-Fr., F, St. Cloud, Minn.) hit four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 23 points for the Beavers. Josh Johnson (Jr., F, Lufkin, Texas) scored 18 points and Chris East (Jr., G, Toronto, Ontario) added 14 points. Korf finished with a solid all around game, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out four assists in 39 minutes.

“We played hard and I think we have come a long way with a group that is committed,” said Stewart.

MSU continues on the road next week with a pair of games at the University of Sioux Falls.