Box Score LANCASTER, Texas – Minot State University got 21 points from Tyler Rudolph and a career-high 20 from Stevan Jovanaovic, but it wasn't enough as Southern Arkansas pulled away down the stretch for an 82-74 win in nonconference NCAA Division II men's basketball Saturday at The Valley.
 
MSU (0-2 overall) trailed by five at halftime, 41-36, but took a brief lead midway through the second half. But, much like Friday night's loss to Henderson State, the Beavers hit a cold stretch and allowed the Muleriders to make a run.
 
"I'm proud of the effort level of our basketball team," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "We are playing hard enough, but our level of execution has to be better to win close games. That's where you see growth in good teams. They get sharper and more focused on both ends as the season moves forward. It's up to us as coaches and players to see if we can be a team in that category."
 
Southern Arkansas (1-1 overall) used the free throw to its advantage. While much of that was down the stretch, SAU went 21 of 24 from the line, including 13 of 14 in the second half, to outscore MSU 21-7. CJ Elkins, who led all scorers with 27 points, went 9 for 9 from the line in the win.
 
Jovanovic had a great night for the Beavers as the junior went 8 of 13 from the field and pulled down four rebounds on both the offensive and defensive end for eight total. Rudolph was his normal self, hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers and 8 of 16 overall for 21 points and added eight rebounds – five on the offensive end.
 
MSU shot 48.5 percent in the first half, but cooled off to 38.9 in the second. MSU did hit five 3-pointers in the second half after going just 2 for 9 in the first half, but ended shooting just 25.9 percent overall from beyond the arc.
 
Along with Elkins, SAU had four others in double figures. Darnell Jones-Bowie and Snyder Cenecharles both scored 14 and De'Vonte Thornton and Denarious Lockhart added 10 each. Lockhart added a team-high five rebounds.
 
Luis Ricci Maia and Nathaniel Moore scored nine each for MSU in the loss. Both finished with four rebounds and Maia dished out two assists. Nathan Mertens scored eight points, pulled down three rebound and added two assists for the Beavers.
 
Minot State will play its first home game of the 2016-17 season Tuesday night at the Dome as the Beavers play host to the University of Jamestown starting at 7 p.m.
 
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.