MARSHALL, Minn. – There was a little more time on the clock, but Minot State University again gave up a last second basket to get beat on the road as Southwest Minnesota State scored with 4.5 seconds remaining to win 86-84 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Saturday at the R/A Facility.
Ryan Bruggeman scored on a layup with 4.5 seconds to play to break an 84-84 tie and Minot State's potential answer by
Dominique McDonald (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) at the buzzer bounced around before falling off securing the win for the Mustangs.
The Beavers (4-6 overall, 0-5 NSIC) lost on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer Friday at the University of Sioux Falls and has held a second half lead late in the ballgame in its last three losses and finished 0-2 on the road this week despite being outscored by just three total points.
"We played our tails off both nights and made plays over and over again," said MSU head coach
Matt Murken. "We made some big shots, but both nights we needed to get one big stop to get the win. I'm proud of the effort and proud of the overall execution. They've got to keep fighting and the coaching staff need to continue to find ways to put them in position to win and we both do that, good things will eventually happen for us."
MSU led by as many as seven points in the second half and took an 82-75 lead on a jumper by McDonald with 4:02 to play in the game. The Beavers earned the cushion by virtue of a 13-7 run where
Luis Ricci Maia (So., G, Franca, Sao Paulo, Brazil),
Chris Davis (Sr., G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) and
Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) all his 3-pointers, while
Nathan Mertens (Jr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) and McDonald knocked down two-pointers.
Minot State had balance like that all night with six players scoring in double figures. The Beavers shot 50.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent on 3s.
Winston Williams (Sr., F, Plainfield, Ill.) paced the Beaver with 17 points and seven rebounds. SMSU countered with four in double figures and eight with at least six points and shot 55.7 percent overall.
"We seem to not get any breaks late in the game, but you have to make your own breaks," Murken said. "We made a lot of plays tonight, especially in the second half, but we needed to make one more. We need to get big stops down the stretch if we are going to win games like this."
SMSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but the Beavers had that total down to just four at the break. MSU outscored the Mustangs 46-44 in the second half, but SMSU went on a 11-4 run over the final four minutes of the contest.
Kirk Carter came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting for the Mustangs. Joey Bartlett added 14 points and eight rebounds in the win.
McDonald and Maia both scored 13 points and McDonald added five assists and a steal, while Maia dished out four assists and swiped three balls. Rudolph scored 12 points and Mertens and Davis scored 11 each. Mertens pulled down six rebounds for MSU.
The Beavers stay on the road in the NSIC for one more game before the break, traveling to Bismarck, N.D., Friday for a 8 p.m. match up with rival University of Mary and will return home for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against Crossroads College Saturday.
About Minot StateMinot 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.
– GO BEAVERS –
