MINOT, N.D. – Fresh off their first Top 25 ranking of the season, the Minot State men's basketball team kicks off their first weekend of conference play. Traveling up to the Magic City will be the Bemidji State Beavers and St. Cloud State Huskies.

Minot State (9-0, 1-0 NSIC) faces St. Cloud (4-4) on Friday at 7:30 p.m., followed by another installment of the 'Battle of the Beavers' rivalry with Bemidji (3-3) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Last time out against St. Cloud, the Beavers had one slip by in a 72-68 victory for the Huskies back on February 11 at the MSU Dome. Minot State looks for a bounce back when they meet with St. Cloud for the 25^th meeting all-time between both schools.

When it comes to Bemidji State, Minot State was able to get the best of them just 10 days before their St. Cloud matchup on February 1. The final was 62-58 in another close clash in Minot. The (good) Beavers look to add to that when they host Bemidji in the 29^th edition of the 'Battle of the Beavers' on the hardwood.

St. Cloud poses a scoring threat to the Beavers as their top four scorers average double figures. Jamiir Allen is the best of the bunch in a limited sample size with a cool 16.8 PPG. Nate Dahl follows him with 12.5 PPG in only 4 starts, while Wyatt Hawks serves as the rim protector with 7.8 RPG to go along with a 10.4 PPG average.

Bemidji is led by Malang Athian as his 14.3 PPG is tops on the team. Tate Olson is a rebounding machine and nice second fiddle to Athian with 8.7 RPG.

A huge reason for Minot State's best start to a season all-time has been the potent starting five unit of Caleb Van De Griend, Jalen Cook, Sam West, Ayouba Berthe, and Jaxon Gunville. All starters sit at double-digit scoring averages, led by Van De Griend's 17.7 PPG and 11.0 RPG in a double-double effort. Cook stands right behind Van De Griend with a nice 16.1 PPG. For Gunville, the shooting mentality never eases up as he has hit 33 of 78 three-point attempts which is good for 42%.
 
Recent Games
Minot State wrapped up a successful holiday break with two wins in South Dakota. The Beavers put a bow on the slate with a 71-64 win over Black Hills State to finish strong last weekend. The victory pumped their record up to 9-0, which is the best start in team history and earned them a spot in the Top 25 rankings coming in at No. 20 in the nation. Caleb Van De Griend registered yet another double-double that night with 21 points and 11 rebounds to propel him to NSIC Player of the Week honors. Cook scored 15 points, while Gunville chipped in with 13 points including 3 of 4 from the arc. Trey Brandt provided a boost from the bench, adding 9 points along the way.