SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Minot State University men's basketball team will travel to the Sanford Pentagon on Friday, Feb. 26 for the NSIC Tournament. The North No. 3 Beavers will open postseason play against the South No. 2 Upper Iowa Peacocks at 4 p.m. 

Minot State (8-6) finished as the third seed from the North Division and will face Upper Iowa (10-6) who finished as the second seed from the South Division in this eight-team tournament. The full bracket can be found here. 

The Beavers finished the season on an impeccable run, winning six of the last eight games and sweeping rival UMary to clinch a spot in the NSIC Tournament. Head Coach Matt Murken spoke at his weekly press conference that can be found here. 

The NSIC / Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Championships will take place Thursday-Sunday, February 25-28 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The top four teams from each division will compete in the eight-team tournaments.

• Quarterfinals - Thursday & Friday at 4 & 7 p.m.
• Semifinals - Saturday at 4 & 7 p.m.
• Championship Game - Sunday at 4 p.m.

All games will air on MidcoSN and on the NSIC Network.  *All times subject to change.   

No spectators will be allowed at the 2021 NSIC / Sanford Health Basketball Tournaments. 

GAME NOTES

BEAVERS VS. PEACOCKS
The Minot State men's basketball team faces the Upper Iowa Peacocks for the first time this season. It will be the first matchup between these two programs since Feb. 8, 2020, when the Beavers fell 94-71. MSU is 3-9 in recorded history against Upper Iowa. The Beavers are 1-5 on the road and 2-7 in the conference against UIU. The largest margin of victory for the Beavers was 91-71 on Feb. 21, 2018. 

MSU averages 76.33 points per game against Upper Iowa all-time. Should the Beavers advance, they would take on either North No. 1 Northern State or South No. 4 Augustana in the Semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 27. 

RECENT NSIC TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
Last season in the NSIC Tournament the Beavers fell 79-68 to the University of Sioux Falls on Feb. 26, 2020. In that matchup, Max Cody finished with 12 points and five assists, Kody Dwyer chipped in five points and three rebounds among the starting returners heading back to the tournament this season. The loss to Sioux Falls marked the second-consecutive season that the Beavers fell at the hands of the Cougars in the NSIC Tournament. 

In 2017-18, Minot State earned its way to the second round of the conference tournament after knocking off Upper Iowa in the first round 91-71, and then fell to Minnesota State - Mankato in the second round 87-79. 

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Max Cody was named First-Team All-NSIC after he led the Beavers in points per game (14.9), assists (5.3), and total points (209). Cody now has 1,128-career points and is the 17th men's basketball player to surpass the 1,000-career point mark during the course of their career at Minot State. 

The Melbourne, Australia native was second on the team and 15th in the NSIC in field goal percentage (.463). Cody was second on the team in field goals made (75) and first on the team in field goals attempted (161). He led the team in three-point field goal percentage after making 14-of-30 (.467) from deep during the season. Cody was 18th in the conference in free-throw shooting making 45-of-60 from the line (.750). 

NSIC HONORABLE MENTION
Melvin Newbern was named NSIC Honorable Mention after his stellar first active season on the MSU men's basketball team. 

Newbern was the first player since all-time leading scorer Tyler Rudolph to average 14.0-plus points and 9.0-plus rebounds per game during a season. He just beat those markings with 14.1 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. Newbern was 5th in the NSIC and led the Beavers in rebounding this season. 

BUILDING ON MOMENTUM
The MSU men's basketball team looks to capture the momentum that it has built heading into the postseason as winners of six of its last eight games. The Beavers take on the Peacocks from Upper Iowa University on Friday, Feb. 26 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament inside the Sanford Pentagon at 4 p.m. 

A COMPLETE TEAM EFFORT
On a night-in and night-out basis during the course of the season, the Beavers relied on a different player to help lead the way to victory. Led by its fourth-best scoring defense in the conference that allowed 72.4 points per game, the Beavers found a way to get big wins at pivotal times. Kody Dwyer scored a season-high 24 points over a season-high 32 minutes on Feb. 19 against UMary. Cam'ron Dunfee dropped a season-high 27 points on Jan. 30 against Bemidji State to lead all scorers, and Sam Ohlrich recorded a career-high 20 points to help lift the Beavers to a big 72-61 victory at Minnesota-Crookston that started a four-game winning streak for the team. 

Over the course of the 14-game season, the Beavers have used their depth and perseverance to earn a top-four seed in the NSIC Tournament.  

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.