Men's Basketball Report: February 28
NCC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
#2 Minnesota State 80, #7 Augustana 63
Mankato, Minn. -- Minnesota State opened the 2007 NCC Championships with an 80-63 victory over Augustana in Bresnan Arena in Taylor Center.
The win gave Minnesota State its 25th victory of the season, establishing a new school record for single-season wins.
After trailing 18-11 with 9:24 remaining in the first half, MSU used a 9-0 run to regain the lead at 19-18 with 6:57 left. Both teams traded baskets until MSU pushed a 38-32 victory at the break.
The Vikings kept the game close in the second half, tying the game at 45 with 12:33 remaining. MSU then used a 16-6 run to push a 10 point lead at 61-51 and never look back.
The Mavericks were led in scoring by Paris Kyles who tied his career-high with 26 points on 8-12 shooting, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Kyles' also pulled in six rebounds.
Luke Anderson added 22 points, 15 of which came in the games opening half. Anderson added a game-high seven rebounds to go with a pair of steals. Jake Morrow added 12 points and five rebounds, while Atila Santos had 11 points.
The Mavericks shot 48.1 percent from the floor in the win, while limiting USD to 41.7 percent from the floor, including an ice-cold 23.5 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Augustana won the battle of the boards, 35-30, including a 14-9 edge on the offensive end. MSU forced Augustana into 18 turnovers.
#3 St. Cloud State 63, #6 Nebraska-Omaha 52
St. Cloud, Minn. -- St. Cloud State advanced to the semi-finals of the NCC Tournament with a 63-52 win over the Nebraska-Omaha at Halenbeck Hall.
St. Cloud State has won seven straight games against the UNO Mavericks including an NCC tournament quartefinal game last season. The Huskies led from start to finish in this one, but the Mavericks made several runs and pulled within three points twice in the first half and closed to within two points once in the second half.
The Huskies led 33-20 at the half after out scoring UNO 10-0 in the final 4:40. Two baskets by Matt Schneck and three-point baskets by David Dreas and Kelly Byrne made up the Huskies run.
In the second half, UNO‘s Keith Price scored ten points in the first seven minutes, including a jumper at the 13:06 mark that closed SCSU's lead to 39-37. SCSU's Dreas answered with a run of his own, scoring seven straight points to give the Huskies a 46-40 lead.
Dreas scored 16 of his game high 23 points in the second half. Schneck finished the night with ten points and seven rebounds. The Huskies out rebounded UNO 37-34.
Nebraska-Omaha had two players score in double figures led by sophomore guard Michael Jenkins with 20 points. Price finished the game with ten points and seven rebounds. UNO's leading scorer, senior guard Zac Robinson scored one three-point basket late in the second half.
#4 Minnesota Duluth 85, #5 North Dakota 63
Duluth, Minn. -- An early second-half scoring explosion turned a six-point Minnesota Duluth lead into an 85-63 Bulldog win over North Dakota in the Tournament quarterfinals, ending UND's season.
After taking a 46-40 halftime lead, the Bulldogs opened the second half on a 28-6 tear that blew the game wide open. UMD forward John Vaudreuil, who sat on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half, jump-started the run by scoring the first four points of the period to extend the lead into double-digits.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Ryan Miessner and Jordan Schade built the lead to 16 points with 12:30 remaining and essentially ended any hopes of a Sioux upset.
Vaudreuil would finish with 13 points in the half and 15 for the game.
After a 91-67 loss at UMD to close out the regular season last Saturday, it appeared the Sioux might be able to write a different story tonight. The Bulldogs built a first-half lead as high 15 points with just over seven minutes remaining on the clock, but the Sioux slowly chipped away and used a 12-2 run to climb back into the game.
Sioux guard Ervin Youmans nailed a three-pointer with 1:05 remaining to draw UND to within two points at 42-40 with 1:05 on the clock.
But perhaps in a sign of things that were to come in the second half, the Bulldogs closed out the period by scoring on their final two possessions and holding the Sioux off the board, making it 46-40 at the break. UND would come no closer for the rest of the night.
Five Bulldogs reached double figures in scoring, led by Bryan Foss' 15 - all in the first half - and Vaudreuil's 14. Matt Hockett and Jordan Nuness added 12 points each and Matt Rawley had 10.
Youmans led all Sioux scorers with 12 points, all of which came
in the first half. Senior Mark Kruse, playing in what would be his
final collegiate game, scored 10 points.