MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University couldn't get enough stops down the stretch to extend their win streak.

In a game where scoring was at a premium most of the night, Minnesota State outscored the Beavers 30-16 over the final 9:20 of the game.

That was enough to hold off the Beavers – ending Minot State's six-game home winning streak – in a 73-63 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball game Saturday at the Minot State Dome.

"We OK tonight, but to beat a team like Minnesota State who has been ranked nationally at times this year, you have to be better than that. You probably have to be great," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "We were decent, but we just couldn't get enough stops in the end."

The Beavers (11-13 overall, 6-12 NSIC) had a good start, outscoring Minnesota State (17-7, 12-6) 7-0, holding the high-scoring Mavericks scoreless for four minutes to start the game.

But it tightened up from there as neither team led by more than eight until the waning moments of the second half.

The Mavericks lead reached eight midway through the first half, but the Beavers closed that to just one at the break as Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) scored just inside the halftime buzzer.

Minot State took a number of four-point leads in the second half, the final one at 47-43 on free throws by Steven Jovanovic (So., F, Novi Sad, Serbia), but the Beavers couldn't extend it from there. Minot struggled to shoot the ball consistently in the second half, hitting 10 of 27 shots and just four of their 15 3-pointers after the break.

"We didn't play a great game on offense," Murken said. "I didn't think our pace was great on the offensive end. We were a step slow there."

Neither team got into much offensive flow as the Mavericks only hit 40 percent from the floor, going 22 of 54 overall, while MSU was 22 of 56. Part of that was a number of whistles stopping the flow of the game as the two teams combined for 44 fouls and 54 free throws. Minnesota State, however, did a better job of taking advantage of that hitting 23 foul shots compared to just 13 for Minot State.

"A lot of the stats were similar," Murken said. "For the most part it was a one or two basket game – back and forth – and we battled them. They got to the foul line about that 10 minute mark. That's something they do, they get to the foul line. They outscored us by 10 at the line and 10 in the game. That was a big difference."

Joey Witthus finished with 16 points and Jalen Pendleton netted all 15 of his in the second half to lead the Mavericks. Jon Fuqua earned a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

Rudolph notched his league-leading 10th double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Minot State. Michael Pelo (Sr., G, Charleston, Utah) came off the bench to score 11 and Brandon Pines (Sr., F, Jessup, Md.), Dominique McDonald (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) and Chris Davis (Sr., G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) all scored eight points. Nathan Mertens (Jr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) dished out six assists in the loss.

Minot State makes its final road trip in NSIC play next week, traveling to Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.

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.