LINK TO NSIC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A season of hard work comes down to this game for the Minot State men's basketball team who finds a familiar foe standing in its way.
The Beavers open the NSIC Tournament on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. at the Sanford Pentagon playing a quarterfinal game against Southwest Minnesota State, the third straight year the two teams have met in the playoffs.
Also the third meeting this season between the teams who split their previous contests, this game has even greater ramifications in terms of NCAA National Tournament bids as the Beavers (20-8 overall) are currently ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Central Region poll and the Mustangs (18-11) No. 7.
The NSIC, MIAA, and GAC champions each receive one of eight bids to the Central Region tournament, leaving five at-large bids available to teams ranked in the final Central Region poll. That means the winner of Sunday's game will have a great chance to solidify their place in the Central Region poll and potentially secure at least an at-large berth to the national tournament.
Of course, three straight wins at the Sanford Pentagon means an NSIC Championship and an automatic berth to nationals, as well, so there definitely is a ton at stake Sunday morning.
The Mustangs opened NSIC playoff play with a 74-63 win over St. Cloud State on Wednesday in the NSIC Tournament's first round, while the Beavers earned a bye in the first round thanks to a Top-4 finish during the regular season.
A regular season that saw Minot State beat Southwest Minnesota State 72-60 at the MSU Dome in mid-January as
Khari Broadway had 20 points,
Connor Hollenbeck added 14,
Jaxon Gunville scored 11 and grabbed a game-high 7 rebounds, and
Caleb Van De Griend tossed in 11 points, as well.
But just two weeks ago, the Mustangs got even on their home court as Minot State struggled through a 13-minute scoring drought in a 72-53 setback.
Michael Jok led Minot State with 15 points while Broadway had 12 points and 7 rebounds, Hollenbeck scored 12 points, and
Jalen Cook contributed 10 points and 7 boards that night.
Broadway has led the way all season averaging 13.7 points per game for a balanced Beaver attack with four players in double digits, while Hollenbeck is second in scoring at 11.7 ppg and leads Minot State in rebounding at 7.0 boards per contest. Broadway also leads the Beavers with 76 assists.
Both Broadway and Hollenbeck were named to the All-NSIC Team earlier this week.
As for the Mustangs, 6-foot-3 junior guard Dunwa Omot has led the way against Minot State averaging 14 points per game while 6-7 freshman forward Aeron Stevens also has been an impact performance in the teams' season series averaging 11 points and 5 rebounds per game.
As for all season long, 6-9 senior center Jake Phipps has led the way for Southwest Minnesota State with team-highs of 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds, while 6-2 senior guard Cliff Cofield has averaged 11.1 points and dished out a team-high 98 assists. Both were named to the All-NSIC Team this week.
The third meeting of the season, the contest also will be the third straight year one of these teams ends the others' season as the Mustangs beat Minot State at the MSU Dome to end the Beavers 2021-22 season, while Minot State used triple overtime last year at Southwest Minnesota State to end the Mustangs season.
The winner of Sunday morning's quarterfinal advances to meet the winner between Sioux Falls and regular-season champion Minnesota State, Mankato in a semifinal contest at 11 a.m. on Monday morning.
The NSIC Championship game is slated for Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
