ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Minot State University carried a 14-7 lead into the second half, but a big rushing attack by St. Cloud State allowed the Huskies to rally.

SCSU outscored Minot State 35-14 including a pivotal 14-0 in the third quarter to rally over the Beavers 42-28 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division play Saturday at Husky Stadium.

"We started out well in all phases," MSU head coach Tyler Hughes said. "We were physical and made some big plays defensively. In the second half, we continued to play well offensively, but couldn't find the right mix necessary to get stops on the defensive end."

The Beavers (1-6 overall, 1-6 NSIC, 1-2 NSIC North) used a solid rushing attack of their own and a key interception in the first half to the 7-point lead.

Jarvis Mustipher (Jr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) bulled in from 2-yards out to cap an 11-play, 75 yard opening-game possession that featured all running plays for MSU and a 7-0 lead. After SCSU tied the game at 7 late in the second quarter, the Beavers used a big 45-yard interception return by Marcel Brinson (Sr., DB, Gilroy, Calif.) to set up a short TD pass from Jose Escobar (Jr., QB, Norwalk, Calif.) to freshman Jacob Lopez (RB, Bakersfield, Calif.) with just 13 seconds to play before halftime.
It was both Escobar's and Lopez's first MSU touchdown and Lopez's first touch in a Beaver uniform.

The Huskies (4-3, 4-3, 2-1) rallied in the third quarter and early fourth quarter behind Nate Meyer and a strong rushing attack. Meyer scored on a 12-yard run on SCSU's first possession on the second half and then threw a 42-yard TD to J Parsons to break a 14-14 tie with 6:04 remaining in the third. SCSU made it a 14-point cushion on a Curtwan Evans' 5-yard TD early in the fourth quarter.

But the Beavers didn't go away.

MSU trimmed the lead to 35-21 as Escobar found Keegan Verdugo (Jr., TE, Huntington Beach, Calif.) just a minute after the Evans TD. SCSU made it 14-points again on a Meyer TD pass, but Escobar found Porter Sturm (Sr., WR, Roy, Mont.) on a 29-yard TD with 5:29 to play.

Minot State couldn't get the key stop late, however, as SCSU marched one more time, culminating in a 17-yard TD run by Ledell White with just 2:30 to play to seal the win. It was the fifth straight possession that ended in a score for the Huskies.

St. Cloud State had three players with 100 yards on the ground as Evans led the way with 148. White added 106 and Jaden Huff finished with 102. All three finished with a touchdown and Meyer added a fourth rushing score. Meyer was 9 for 19 with two TDs in the air, but MSU picked him off twice, the first coming from Randel Barber (Sr., DB, Maricopa, Ariz.) in the end zone to negate a drive and the second came on Brinson's pick and return just before the half.

Mustipher had his second big weekend in a row rushing as he set a career-high in his second straight game, gaining 175 yards on 29 carries and one TD. He also had his and the school's longest run in its DII history with a 60-yard scamper.

"Our running game has developed," Hughes said. "Our players have a much better understanding of what we are trying to do and they have executed in that area."

Escobar was 15 of 24 for 182 yards passing and threw for three TDs. Sturm and Verdugo each caught four passes with Sturm finishing with 78 and a score, while Verdugo added 40 and a TD.

Isaiah Steinwand (Sr., DB, Minot, N.D.) finished with eight tackles to pace MSU, while Trevin Swensen (Jr., LB, Shelley, Idaho) and Maurice Talley (Sr., DB, Elk Grove, Calif.) each finished with seven.

The Beavers return home for a two-game homestand starting with Minnesota State University Moorhead Saturday starting at 3 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.