(MINOT, N.D.) -- The Minot State University men's basketball team opened its conference season on Saturday night, taking on its biggest rival in a Thanksgiving weekend clash. Unfortunately, the Beavers were unable to emerge victorious in a low-scoring defensive battle. 
 
The first half was a struggle as both teams shot under 35%, and both sides worked very hard to earn the points they did get. Both teams went back and forth throughout the first half, with neither team getting out to a lead bigger than six points. At the break, the Beavers led 24-19.
 
The second half was not much better offensively for the Beavers as they struggled to get shots to fall. Minot State shot 36.4% compared to UMary, who hit 52.2% of their attempts in the second half. UMary was able to fight back early in the half, tying the game up at 27 with 17 minutes to play. Immediately following that, neither team would score for the next three minutes, before UMary would take a 29-27 lead. The Beavers followed that with a 7-0 run to take a 34-29 lead with under 13 minutes to play. Over the next several minutes, the Beavers would expand on that lead, going up by as much as 11 points with just over seven minutes to play. Over the next five minutes, the Beavers would be held scoreless, cutting their lead to 49-48. The two teams would battle over the last couple of minutes, with the lead changing three times in the last minute, unfortunately for the Beavers, it would not end in their favor as a Max Cody three-point attempt bounced off the rim in the waning seconds to give UMary the 56-53 victory.
 
The Beavers were led in scoring by Kyle Beisch, scoring 22 points. The only other Beaver in double figures was Kody Dwyer, who scored 11 points. Max Cody scored five points and added eight rebounds and nine assists. Stephane Manzi added seven rebounds. The Beavers were never able to find a groove offensively, shooting 35.5% from the field and 28.6% from the three-point arc.

Next up for the Beavers is a weekend road trip starting Dec. 6 at the University of Minnesota Duluth at 7:30 p.m. The very next day the Beavers take on St. Cloud State University at 5:30 p.m.
 
Media: For more information, contact the Coordinator of Sports Information Josh Van Valkenburg-Gernert.