St. Cloud State
University of Minnesota Duluth
Huskies set for rematch against UMD
12/28/2018 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team suffered just two losses in the first half of the 2018-19 season. One was to long-time rival Minnesota State-Mankato in overtime, while the other was to the University of Minnesota-Duluth to open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season back on December 1. On Sunday, the Huskies have a chance to avenge one of those two losses, as they travel to Duluth, Minnesota to face the Bulldogs at 4 p.m. in a key NSIC rematch.
Since dropping the game to Minnesota-Duluth, (RV) St. Cloud State has gone on to win four consecutive games, finishing the first half of the season with an overall record of 9-2 and a 4-1 mark in NSIC play. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, have dropped three of their last five and now hold an overall record of 5-4 with a 2-3 record in conference play.
Live stats, video and WJON's live radio broadcast (1390) will be available for fans who cannot attend the game in person. Score updates can also be found on St. Cloud State men's basketball official Twitter page (@SCSUmensbball).
Here are the five things to know before Sunday's rematch between the Huskies and Bulldogs:
81.5 – St. Cloud State is coming off its best weekend of the season, as it averaged 81.5 points per game in two wins over Southwest Minnsota State and Sioux Falls December 14-15. The Huskies recorded their most dominent win of the season over the Mustangs, as they outscored the visitors 40-28 in the opening 20 minutes of play and 40-32 in the second. St. Cloud State followed it up with another 80 point performanc against the Cougars and hung on for the 83-73 victory.
2nd – Sean Smith (Seville, Spain / Canarias Basketball Academy) earned his second NSIC Player of the Week honor on December 17 after putting together two outstanding performances against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. The senior shot .875 percent from the field in both games, going 17-20 from the floor and 11-11 from the charity strip. In the Huskies win over the Mustangs, Smith shot 10-11 (.909) from the floor and scored a career-high 25 points with 13 rebounds before tallying 22 points in the win over the Cougars. More impressive may be the senior's block total. In 11 games, Smith has tallied 55 blocks for a 5.0 per game average, both of which lead the nation this season. He's also just 35 blocks away from breaking the school record for career blocks (174).
2031 – With his 10th point in the game against SMSU on Friday, Dcember 14, senior guard Gage Davis (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) became just the second player in program history to score 2000 career points. Thanks to his 19 and 22 point performances over the weekend, Davis has now scored 2031 points during his career at St. Cloud State, which ranks second all-time behind Dan Hagen's 2136. Currently, the senior guard is averaging an impressive 23.8 points in NSIC play this season, which ranks third behind SMSU's Ryan Bruggeman (27.4) and Minnesota-Crookston's Harrison Cleary (25.0)
101/59 - If the Huskies want to avenge their NSIC-opening loss to Minnesota-Duluth, they'll have to stop the Bulldogs' leading scorer Brandon Myer. The junior from Superior, Wisconsin has scored 101 points against conference opponents this season, including his 30-point performane in UMD's 91-81 win over then No. 13 St. Cloud State. More impressive may be Myer's rebounding numbers. Through five games, Myer has tallied a conference-leading 59 rebounds for an 11.8 rebounds/game average, which again tops the NSIC.
18 - Expect the Huskies and Bulldogs to put up a lot of threes Sunday afternoon. The two teams made a combined 18 three-pointers in their first meeting on a combined 46 shot attempts to shoot .391 from beyond the arc. St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth also feature two of the top shooting guards in the conference. In addition to Davis and Myer, the Huskies and Bulldogs each have one of the top-five three-point shooters in the NSIC in Brindley Theisen (St. Cloud, Minn. / St. Cloud Cathedral) and Logan Rohrscheib. The two are averaging an impressinve 2.6 threes per game (No. 3 in the NSIC) while shooting .481 and .448 from beyond the arc versus conference opponents.
Bonus number:
22 - At least 22 combined inches of snow have fallen in Duluth and St. Cloud, Minnesota as the latest winter storm continues to ravage through the northern and central part of the state. The snow fall is expected to stop by Sunday's matinee between the Huskeis and Bulldogs, though.
