THIS WEEK: Minot State is looking for a pair of wins and then some help as the Beavers make their final push for a home playoff game, taking on Minnesota Crookston Friday (8 p.m.) and Bemidji State Saturday (6 p.m.).

RECORDS: The Beavers split last weekend to go to 12-14 overall and are 8-12 in NSIC play. MSU is tied for fifth with Bemidji State and a game back of the University of Mary in the NSIC North Division. UMC is 7-19 overall and 3-17 in league play, while BSU comes into the weekend with an 8-12 conference record and a 10-15 overall mark.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his fifth season as head coach of the Beavers. He's compiled a 58-78 record during his first five seasons with Minot State and is 104-94 throughout his six-year head coaching career. UMC's head coach is Dan Weisse. Weisse is 17-61 in his three seasons with the Golden Eagles. Mike Boschee is the head coach at Bemidji State and is 179-187 overall in his career. He is 64-72 at BSU.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: None of the three teams were ranked in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 poll, in this week's D2SIDA Media Poll or in the first NCAA Division II Central Region Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State nearly got the home sweep it was looking for last weekend, topping Minnesota Duluth 79-63, but couldn't finish off St. Cloud State, falling in overtime 96-91 Saturday. It was a record setting night Friday as Nathan Mertens finished with 13 assists to break the school record, Tyler Rudolph had the Beavers first DII 20-20 night with 26 points and 21 rebounds and MSU hit 16 3s in the win. Saturday's matchup was an old fashioned barn burner as Trevor Rothstein's 3 with 4 seconds remaining forced the extra session, but SCSU earned the OT win. Mertens scored 22 to lead the Beavers with Luis Ricci Maia adding 18. UMC fell 85-80 in OT at Northern State and were blown out 103-68 at MSU Moorhead. Harrison Cleary led the team both nights, scoring 33 and 16 respectively. BSU got a huge win Saturday, topping NSU 63-59 to keep pace with MSU and U-Mary after falling 102-78 at MSUM Friday. Jai'Vionne Green led the team both nights as well, scoring 16 and 21 points.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers have a sizeable lead over Minnesota Crookston in the all-time series, leading 19-5 dating back to both teams' NAIA days. MSU is a perfect 9-0 against Minnesota Crookston since joining the NSIC. Minot State and Bemidji State are tied at eight games apiece in their series.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State earned a sweep at the Dome over BSU and UMC in January, topping Bemidji 79-71 Friday and UMC 84-72 Saturday. Minot State got the usual from Tyler Rudolph Friday as he netted 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Nathan Mertens scored 15 in the win. Ben Best finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for BSU. Rudolph was spectacular Saturday, scoring a then career-high 33 points and adding 17 rebounds for MSU as they beat UMC 84-72. Nathaniel Moore scored 14 and Russ Davis added 11 for Minot. Harrison Cleary finished with 23 in the loss for UMC.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston is tied with Minnesota Duluth for the bottom spot in the NSIC North Division with two games remaining… Harrison Cleary is second in the NSIC in scoring at 21.5 points per game and has taken 429 shots over 26 games, averaging 16.5 per game… Gable Smith is the team's leading rebounder with 143 and has 63 blocks on the season, over half of the team's 104… Chase Knickerbocker has pushed his scoring average above 10 points and 10.8 per game… UMC averages just 10.2 turnovers per game.

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: Bemidji State has come on strong after a terrible start in conference play. The Beavers lost seven of their first eight NSIC games, but 7-5 in since Jan. 6… Jai'Vionne Green has established himself as a solid scorer, averaging 17.2 points per game… Not one BSU player has taken 100 free throws individually yet this season, but nine players have 25 or more to give BSU 499 attempts, 113 more than its opponents… Sharif Black and Ben Best also average in double figures at 12.6 and 12.1 points per game.

RECORD FOR HELPERS; HELPING SET RECORDS: MSU senior Nathan Mertens set a school record with 13 assists in the win over Minnesota Duluth Friday, getting to 10 before the halftime break. It also is the highest total in the NSIC this season. In the process, he helped Minot State set a DII era record with 16 made 3-pointers in the game. Mertens had a fantastic week, dishing out 20 assists and had just one turnover to jump to eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio in the league with a 2.1.

THREE SWING: Minot State continues to shoot the 3 and defend it with the best in the league. MSU is the league leader in 3-point field goal defense, only allowing 34.3 percent from beyond the arc. Overall, they are one of just seven schools who haven't given up 200 triples yet this year. The Beavers are second in the NSIC on offense on 3s, making 41.9 percent. Only MSU Moorhead's 42.9 is better.

RUDY REBOUNDS: Tyler Rudolph has been MSU's go-to offensive weapon all season, evident by his 20.8 scoring clip, third in the league. But Rudolph has steadily increased his rebounding totals throughout the season. The pinnacle so far was the first 20-20 night in the DII era as he finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds Saturday against UMD. His 21 rebounds were a career high and is the high in the NSIC this season. It also helped him move within range of the single-season rebound record in the league, needing 30 over his last two games to break MSU Moorhead's Alex Novak's record set in the 2010-11 season.

BY THE NUMBERS

10.5: Turnovers per game for MSU, fifth in the NSIC.

13: Double-doubles by Tyler Rudolph, tops in the NSIC. He leads St. Cloud State's Gage Davis by one.

111: Assists for Nathan Mertens and Luis Ricci Maia, tied for fourth in the NSIC.