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Men's Basketball

Beavers Back at Home Looking for First Wins of 2020

(MINOT, N.D.) -- The Minot State men's basketball team is at the Dome for the second consecutive weekend. After a tough pair of games last weekend, the Beavers look to get in the win column for the first time in the new year. 
  
SERIES HISTORY:
Friday's game will be just the ninth meeting on record between Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State. SMSU has dominated the matchup, winning each of the previous eight meetings between the Beavers and Mustangs. Despite not winning any of the matchups, all have been hard-fought contests with three of the last four being within six points, and only one matchup being beyond a ten-point margin.
   
Sioux Falls has been a similarly tough opponent on the Beavers, with Minot State winning three of the 13 meetings between the two foes. The Beavers have had better luck of late, however, winning three of the previous seven matchups after losing the first six.
   
TROUBLESOME TWO: Kyle Beisch and Max Cody have caused problems for opposing defenses all season long. Beisch is fifth in the conference. Meanwhile, Cody is 13th in points per game, scoring 19.8, and 16.1 points per game. Cody is shooting 45.5 (91-200) percent on the season.
   
ANY WAY POSSIBLE: Beisch has done a majority of his damage from the free-throw line. Beisch is fourth in the NSIC in free throw percentage, hitting 85.3 (58-68) percent of his attempts. 
   
PLAYMAKER: In addition to scoring at a high rate, Cody has averaged 6.2 assists per game on the season. That number leads the Northern Sun by a significant rate, with the second-best at 4.8 per game.
   
HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES: While he does not overflow the box score with shot attempts, or points, Kody Dwyer has been very effective on the offensive end. Dwyer has shot 72.2 (78-108) percent on the season thus far. 
  
REGAINING IDENTITY: The Beaver defense has been a strength all season long. That is, until last weekend, when the Beavers gave up 82, and 93 points. With that, the Beavers fell from third to sixth in the NSIC in points allowed per game. Going forward, Minot State will need to regain their defensive identity.
  
DEFENDING THE DEEP BALL: Even with the tough weekend defensively the last time out, the Beavers maintain their strong ability to defend the three-point shot. The Beavers allow opponents to make just 31.6% of their three-point shots. That mark is the second-best in the conference. 


SCOUTING REPORT
Southwest Minnesota State – Going into play this weekend, the Mustangs are 5-11 overall and 2-8 in NSIC play. They are coming off back-to-back single-digit losses at home to Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. Like the Beavers, SMSU has been best on the defensive side of the ball. They allow the fourth-least points per game as a team in the NSIC. They allow opponents to make 41.4 percent of their shots from the field which is third-best in the conference. However, outside of their three-point shooting, they do struggle offensively. SMSU averages the lowest amount of points scored per game in the conference with an average of 66.4. Kenny Byers leads the Mustangs. Byers scores 17.8 points per game and leads the team on the glass, averaging 8.1 rebounds per game. He is joined by Nick Dufault in double figures, as he averages 13 points per contest. 
   
Sioux Falls – The Cougars are one of the better teams in the Northern Sun Game. They have gotten out to a 13-3 start overall, with a 9-1 record in NSIC play. They are currently on a six-game winning streak. In large part, they have had so much success due to their defense. They allow 68.1 points per game, tied for the best in the conference. Sioux Falls does an excellent job on both the offensive and defensive glass, averaging 37.1 rebounds per game, and allowing just over 30 per game. Individually, the Cougars have a very balanced attack, with four players scoring in double figures. Austin Slater, Chase Grinde, Jack Thompson, and Teathloach Pal all score over 10 points per game. 


BROADCAST INFO:
Live Stream – bit.ly/2kjo6dq
Live Stats – bit.ly/2Nhwjck
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Players Mentioned

Kyle Beisch

#3 Kyle Beisch

G
6' 3"
Senior
Max Cody

#5 Max Cody

G
6' 1"
Junior
Kody Dwyer

#0 Kody Dwyer

F
6' 9"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Kyle Beisch

#3 Kyle Beisch

6' 3"
Senior
G
Max Cody

#5 Max Cody

6' 1"
Junior
G
Kody Dwyer

#0 Kody Dwyer

6' 9"
Junior
F