BEMIDJI, Minn. – Minot State University men's basketball got everything it needed Saturday.

The Beavers pulled away from Bemidji State for an 86-69 win and got the help they needed from Minnesota Crookston knocking off the University of Mary to earn the North Division's fourth and final home spot in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference playoffs.

It is the first time since moving to the NSIC where Minot State has earned a top four place and will look to snap a four-game losing streak in the NSIC tournament. Minot State plays host to the University of Sioux Falls Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. at the Minot State Dome.

"I was really proud of our effort tonight," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "We challenged our team to have a higher level of focus and execution in the second half and we came through."

MSU (14-14 overall, 10-12 NSIC) shot 60 percent from the field and limited Bemidji State (10-17, 8-14) to just nine field goals in the first half to pull to .500 overall on the season. Minot hit 16 of 27 shots in the first half and followed that with a 17-for-28 performance in the second half.

"To put that on the road when the home team makes a run, and to put the game away, that's not an easy thing to do," Murken said. "Our team keeps getting better and better. They believe in each other and trust the process."

Junior Nathaniel Moore picked up where he left off Friday night with 23 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists. He hit 10 of 13 from the floor a night after lifting the Beavers to an overtime win over UMC with a buzzer beater.

Minot State built a double digit lead in the first half and extended that to 18 on a Trevor Rothsetein transition 3-pointer off a feed from Nathan Mertens five minutes into the second half.

BSU battled back to cut it to six with a layup by Ben Best with just over five minutes to play.

MSU, however, quickly built it back to double figures as Mertens started a 10-0 run finished off by five straight points by Tyler Rudolph as his free throws with 2:55 remaining gave MSU a 80-64 lead.

Rudolph finished with 16 points and six rebounds for MSU, ending up seven rebounds short of an NSIC single season record.

Sharif Black led BSU with 20 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Jai'Vionne Green scored 11 in the loss.

Along with Moore and Rudolph, MSU had three others in double figures. Luis Ricci Maia knocked down 16 points and added three rebounds and two assists. Mertens and Rothstein chipped in with 10 apiece with Mertens finishing with six assists and no turnovers in the win.

The senior Mertens had an incredible finish to his final regular season, dishing out 35 assists to just six turnovers.

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.