LANCASTER, Texas -- Sophomore Trevor Rothstein led a balanced Minot State attack with a career-high 20 points leading the Beavers to an 84-70 victory over Southern Arkansas in the season opener for both teams on Friday in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Great American Conference Challenge.

Rothstein was 7-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line to pace Minot State. He also added seven rebounds and two assists in his 18 minutes of action. His 20 points surpassed his previous career high of 11 points scored last season against St. Cloud State.

Rothstein led six Minot State players in double figures in scoring. David Akibo finished with 15 points, while Nathaniel Moore scored 12 points. Luis Ricci Maia and Russ Davis had 11 points and Tyler Rudolph chipped in 10 points for the Beavers.

"It was a real good team win tonight," said head coach Matt Murken. "Southern Arkansas did a lot to take the ball out of Tyler and Ricci's hands. Those two were willing passers and helped set up a lot of easy opportunities for others, which led to great balance.

"We really guarded well tonight. Brandon Green was tremendous on defense and he makes us go on that end of the floor. I'm very proud of his effort and leadership for us."

Minot State shot 44.1 percent from the floor for the game and made 25-of-29 free throw attempts. The Beavers also held a sizeable 39-26 rebounding advantage over the Muleriders.

Minot State, which improved to 1-0 on the season, took control of the game midway through the first half. The Beavers used a 9-0 run, sparked by seven points from Akibo, to take a 21-9 advantage with 10:33 to play before halftime.

Southern Arkansas, which dropped to 0-1 on the year, trimmed the lead wot 21-14, but the Beavers answered with an 11-0 run to stretch the lead to 32-14 at the 5:45 mark of the first half. Rothstein scored six points during the run and capped the outburst with a three-pointer.

Minot State held a 39-23 lead with 2:36 to play in the first half, but the Muleriders closed the half on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 41-31 at the half.

After a layup by Wesley Nosakhare cut the Minot State lead to 45-37 with 17:36 to play in the game, Minot State responded with a jumper from Rudolph, a three-pointer from Davis and a three-pointer from Rudolph to push the margin to 53-37 at the 15:14 mark of the second half.

The Beavers cruised for the remainder of the game and the Muleriders were never able to get the margin under 10 points during the final 15 minutes of play.

Minot State returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 11) when it faces Henderson State at 2 p.m. in the finale of the NSIC/GAC Challenge.