MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minot State University Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) hit his career-high for points for the second night in a row, but he was outdueled by Minnesota State University Moorhead's Issac Sevlie.

Sevlie's 38 points, six rebounds were enough for the No. 3 ranked Dragons to outlast Rudolph and the Beavers 97-89 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Saturday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
 
The Beavers (7-9 overall, 2-8 NSIC) pushed the nationally ranked Dragons for nearly every minute of the game, leading much of the first half. But, much like the game in Minot a month ago, MSUM had too many offensive weapons to fend off the Beavers.
 
After leading by as many as six points in the first half, MSU couldn't hold on to the lead late as MSUM pulled ahead by a point at the break. That lead grew to as many as 10 a couple times in the second half, but Minot State hung around.
 
Yet, the Beavers couldn't get closer than four – on a Stevan Jovanovic (So., F, Novi Sad, Serbia) basket with 9:45 to play – in the second half and no closer than six – at 5:44 on free throws by Jovanovic and again on free throws by Chris Davis (Sr., G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) with 1:07 to go – in the final nine minutes. Both times the Beavers cut it to six late, MSUM countered with a Sevlie basket.
 
Rudolph turned in a fantastic weekend as he hit 12 of 15 shots Saturday including both of his 3-point attempts and knocked down his only free throw for his 27 points. He pulled down seven rebounds – four on the offensive end – and dished out two assists. His night followed up a 25-point, 15-rebound output in Friday's game at Northern State. In all he went 20 for 36 from the field, 5 for 6 from the free throw line, had 22 rebounds – including 16 offensive boards – and two assists in two games.
 
Sevlie, however, was even better for the Dragons. He shot 12 of 16 from the floor and 14 for 16 from the line, pulled down six rebounds and added two blocks and a steal in 34 minutes.
 
Along with Sevlie, four other Dragons reached double figures as Ngijol Songolo scored 15 points and added seven rebounds, Tanner Kretchman finished with 12 points, Evan Holt scored 11 and Tyler Vaughan added 10 in the win.
 
Rudolph also had some help offensively as three Beavers joined him in double figures and one came up just short. Michael Pelo (Sr., G, Charleston, Utah) scored 15 points, hitting 5 for 10 3-pointers. Jovanovic hit for a career-high 13 points, while Davis knocked down four 3-pointers for 14 points. Nathan Mertens (Jr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists in the loss.
 
The Beavers will return home for a pair of NSIC games against South Division teams, entertaining Upper Iowa Friday and Winona State Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

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.