ST. CLOUD, MN -- Caleb Van De Griend, Sam West, and Ayouba Berthe combined to score 61 of Minot State's 81 total points, but the Beavers fell to the St. Cloud State Huskies 91-81 on the road Saturday.

Van De Griend led the Beavers (21-6, 12-6 NSIC) with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. West tacked on a double-double with 18 points and 12 assists and Berthe helped out with 15 points and 4 steals.

Minot State utilized nice ball movement in Saturday's game, piling up 18 assists on 30 made field goals. West's 12 assists led the distribution list for the Beavers and Jalen Cook also contributed with 3 assists of his own.

Minot State forced 17 St. Cloud State turnovers while committing 16 themselves in Saturday's game. The Beavers turned those takeaways into 13 points on the other end of the floor. Berthe's 4 steals led the way for Minot State.

Coach Murken saw the Beavers humming, playing excellent in the middle frame of the contest after cutting down a 17-point deficit. However, there were other key times of the game where it did not go the Beavers way.

"That was a hard-fought road game. We played some great basketball in the middle of the game. We were flying around defensively and really sharing the ball. We have to play better at the start and then finish games. They outplayed us at those points in the game," Murken said.
 
How It Happened
After falling behind 35-18, Minot State went on an 8-0 run with 5:14 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from West, to narrow its deficit to 35-26. The Beavers continued to close the gap, cutting the St. Cloud State lead to 37-34 by the end of the first half.

Minot State came out of halftime clicking on all cylinders, going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Cook's three, to seize a 42-37 lead with 18:32 to go in the contest. St. Cloud State re-asserted control, outscoring the Beavers 54-39 the rest of the way to hand Minot State the 91-81 loss.
 
 
Game Notes
» Sam West notched a double-double for the Beavers with 18 points and 12 assists.
» Sam West racked up 12 assists for Minot State.
» The Beavers shared the ball well, recording an assist on 60 percent of made baskets.
» Caleb Van De Griend, Sam West, and Ayouba Berthe combined to account for 75 percent of the Beavers points.
» The Minot State defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Caleb Van De Griend led the Beavers with a game-high 28 points.
» Minot State got 8 rebounds from both Caleb Van De Griend and Sam West.
 
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