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RECORDS: Minot State is State is 7-11 overall and 3-11 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. The Golden Bears are currently 5-13 overall and just 2-12 in the NSIC while Minnesota State sits with a 17-4 overall record and are currently in second place in NSIC South with a 11-3 mark in the conference play.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his second season as head coach of the Beavers. He is 17-28 with Minot State and is 63-44 throughout his four year head coaching career. In his first season with the MISU, Murken increased the Beavers' win total by six from the previous year including the program's first ever win against a NCAA Division II ranked opponent (68-62, No. 19 St. Cloud State, Jan. 5, 2012). Concordia University, St. Paul is coached by Kelly Boe who is in his eighth season at the helm of the Golden Bear men's basketball program. During his time with CU, Boe has guided his teams to a 105-106 overall record. He currently ranks third in program history in all-time wins and has led the Golden Bears to winning seasons in four of his eight seasons. Minnesota State is coached by Matt Margenthaler who is in his thirteenth season as head coach of the Mavericks. During his tenure, Margenthaler has led MSU to a 271-114 overall mark and over a 70.0 percent winning percentage. Last season he helped the Mavericks to a 28-5 overall record, an NSIC regular season championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Minot State, University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State did not receive any votes in the Jan. 21 National Association of Basketball Coaches' Poll. However, two Northern Sun teams did receive votes as Winona State received six points in the poll while Minnesota State received 158 points as they climbed to No. 14 in all of NCAA Division II.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State snapped their six-game losing streak heading into the weekend as they defeated University of Minnesota Crookston 78-59 Friday night in the Minot State Dome. The Beavers had four players scored in double-digits and shot 50.0 percent from the floor. Saturday MISU fell to Bemidji State University 84-68 as they allowed BSU to outscore them 45-33 in the second half. Concordia University, St. Paul went 1-1 over this past weekend in two NSIC road matchups. CU beat Upper Iowa University 81-69 on Friday night and then fell to Winona State 80-61. Minnesota State also split on the weekend as they fell to first place Winona State 73-57 before downing Upper Iowa 95-78.  

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State has faced Concordia University, St. Paul and Minnesota State just once apiece, both coming last season; the Beavers' first season in the Northern Sun and NCAA Division II. MISU beat the Golden Bears at MSU Dome behind a season-high 91 points in the 91-75 win. The next night the Beavers fell to Minnesota State 83-72.

NOTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: Although a 2-12 conference record doesn't portray a highly competitive team, that is exactly what Concordia University, St. Paul is. The Golden Bears have lost four NSIC games decided by five points or fewer including a two-point loss to Winona State, who is currently in first place in the NSIC. CU has a big time scorer in junior Terez VanPelt who leads the Northern Sun in scoring with 19.4 points per game. VanPelt also leads the league in minutes played with 35.1 minutes per game while shooting 42.2 percent from three-point range and 80.4 percent from the free throw line. Teammate Cordell Smith leads the team in rebounding with 4.9 rebounds per game while also averaging 10.2 points per game. However, as a team, the Golden Bears struggle from the field as they rank last in the NSIC with a 40.6 field goal percentage.

NOTING THE MAVERICKS: A high scoring offense and stingy defense has been the recipe for success for Minnesota State during the 2013-14 basketball season. The Mavericks are averaging 85.3 points per game, ranking them first in the Northern Sun, while only giving up 68.7 points per game, ranking them second in the conference. Five Mavericks average 10.0 points per game or more, led by big man Assem Marei with 16.1 points per game. MSU has also dominated the class as they lead the NSIC and rank ninth in all of NCAA Division II with a plus 9.2 rebounding margin. Marei again leads the Mavericks in that category with 8.2 rebounds per game. MSU shares the ball well as they average 17.1 assists per game, No. 22 in the country for NCAA Division II basketball.

GETTING TO THE LINE LATE: In conference play the Beavers have struggled in the last five minutes in close ball games, largely due to free throw attempts. In games that are within 10 points going into the last five minutes of the second half, Minot State is just 1-8 overall. In that time period opponents are getting to free throw line at a higher rate. Opponents have shot 84 free throws compared to just 62 free throws by MISU.

SERBIAN SENSATION: Junior Lazar Boskovic (F, Belgrade, Serbia) has given coach Murken and his team solid minutes during conference play this season. In 15 games this season Boskovic is averaging 8.0 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. In the win over Minnesota Crookston he scored a career-high 15 points while also pulling down five rebounds. Boskovic is fifth in the NSIC with a 58.0 percent field goal percentage.

SAM I AM: Beaver senior Samuel Johnson (F, Las Vegas, Nev.) has scored 203 points during his final season, his first season with Minot State. He spent his junior year at Montana State University-Billings where he scored 300 points over 30 games for the Yellowjackets. Although it will not count in Minot State official records, Johnson surpassed 500 career points at the NCAA Division II level. He joined teammates Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario), E.J. Williams (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) and Thomas Korf (Jr., G, St. Cloud, Minn.) to achieve such a feat. Adam Randall (Jr., G, Steele, N.D.) isn't far behind with 469 career points.

Name                          Career Points
Thomas Korf             657
Chris East                 592
E.J. Williams             587
Samuel Johnson*    503
Adam Randall           469
*Indicates of season at MSU-Billings

HITTING THE ROAD: Minot State has played the majority of their season thus far on their home court at the Minot State Dome. However, the schedule will even out as the Beavers play six of their last eight conference games on the road. This season MISU is just 1-4 on the road with their lone road win coming at the expense of rival University of Mary. In those five games away from home, MISU is giving up an average of 78.6 points per game.

(B)EAST MODE: One constant for the Beavers during the 2013-14 season has been Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) and his ability to rebound the basketball. In games where East has played over 10 minutes, the minimum of rebounds he has collected are five. East ranks fifth in the Northern Sun with 7.9 rebounds per game but leads the conference with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game.

LONG BALL IS KEY FOR KORF: It's no secret that Thomas Korf's (Jr., G, St. Cloud, Minn.) specialty is shooting three-point shots. Korf ranks fourth in the Northern Sun with 41 three-point field goals and has converted on 40.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Over the last two seasons Korf has hit at least one three-point shot in 39-of-45 games played.  

RANDALL COMING OFF THE BENCH: After starting the season in the starting lineup for the first ten games, Adam Randall (Jr., G, Steele, N.D.) has come off the bench in five of his last six ball games played. Randall, who suffered an injury during the Dec. 20 University of Mary game, has averaged just 12 minutes per game over his last six games.

BY THE NUMBERS
7.7: Minnesota State's Zach Monaghan averages 7.7 assists per game. He leads the NSIC and ranks fourth in assists per game in all NCAA Division II.

12.0: Dominique McDonald (So., G, Raleigh, N.C.) has found his scoring ability over the last eight games. McDonald is averaging 12.0 points per game and has scored in double figures in 7-of-8 games since the new year.

8: In the loss to Bemidji State on Jan. 25, Minot State attempted just eight free throws the entire 40 minutes of play, by far their fewest during a game this season.