MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University built a double-figures lead and then held off a charging University of Mary down the stretch to earn an important 82-75 win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Saturday at the MSU Dome.

The Beavers (6-6 overall, 2-4 NSIC) stretched a three-point halftime lead to 15 on one of Russ Davis' eight 3-pointers to take a 62-47 lead with 7:39 to play. U-Mary made a run late to cut it to four with less than a minute remaining, but the Beavers made just enough free throws down the stretch for the win.

"The big thing is we got a win," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "We didn't finish the game out as we would like, but it's nice to be in a situation where you can talk about some learning points in a win."

Davis was a big reason the Beavers built their second-half lead as he hit a long 3 late in the first half and then knocked down 6 of 7 from distance in the second half. His eight 3s tied MSU's single-game mark during its NCAA DII era and he finished with a game-high 25 points.

"We are gaining more and more trust in him and he is figuring out the spacing in our office," Murken said of Davis. "Russ has been stretching defenses for us and when he gets rolling, the guys are certainly looking for him."

While Davis was connecting from the outside, MSU's duo of Stevan Jovanovic and Tyler Rudolph each took a half give the Beavers a presence down low. Jovanovic scored 12 of his 16 points and added seven boards in the first half, while Rudolph tallied all 12 of his points and added seven rebounds in the second. In all, both eared double-doubles as Jovanovic finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while Rudolph added 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.

The stretch run started to look a little like the Beavers' late-game collapse last Saturday against Wayne State, but the key difference – according to Murken – was MSU's improved defensive effort throughout the night.

"It was as good as it has been most of the season," Murken said of his defense. "You know, we let one slip away last week that we didn't feel like we guarded in the second half. It was one of those teaching moments on where the intensity level needed to be. I thought we were much better on that end tonight."

The Marauders (5-7, 3-3) got it to four on a 3-point play by Bryan Jefferson with 13 seconds remaining, but Nathaniel Moore hit one of two from the line, Nathan Merten's forced an offensive foul on the defensive end and Rudolph hit a pair of free throws to end any comeback.

MSU struggled a little from the line overall but hit 6 of their final 8 and 7 of 10 down the stretch to finish off the win.

Demonta Henry paced the Marauders with 25 points and three steals, while Jefferson finished with 21 points and seven boards in the loss.

Moore joined Davis, Jovanovic and Rudolph in double figured with 10 off the bench. Luis Ricci Maia finished with eight points, eight assists and five rebounds, while Mertens scored nine and added three assists and three rebounds for the Beavers.

Minot State is off for just under two weeks before traveling to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth Dec. 30 and 31.

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.