Men's basketball looks for first NSIC win in North Dakota

Friday, December 7

Bismarck, ND

7:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

University of Mary

Diamond Onwuka scored a career-high 12 points in the Huskies loss to UMD last weekend.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

12/6/2018 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) season has just begun for the St. Cloud State University men's basketball team. Though the Huskies had a bit of a rough start to conference play, they have two opportunities to snag their first NSIC win of the year. That's right, this weekend St. Cloud State will travel to the great state of North Dakota for hopefully its first conference victory, as the team takes on the University of Mary and Minot State University this weekend.

The Huskies are hoping to rebound from a disappointing loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth last weekend. With multiple players in foul trouble, St. Cloud State dropped its NSIC opener 91-81, which was not exactly the start the team was looking for to open the conference season.

The Huskies are set to take on the Marauders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday before travel to Minot, North Dakota for a showdown with the Beavers at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The road trip will already be St. Cloud State's third road trip this season, as the men have already wandered to Mankato, Minnesota and San Diego, California for tournaments.

Live stats and video will be available when the Huskies take on Mary and Minot State over the weekend. Score updates can also be found on St. Cloud State men's basketball's official Twitter page (@SCSUmensbball).

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's contests:

83 – The Huskies posted a 3-1 combined record against the Marauders and Beavers last season, averaging an impressive 83 points per game in those four games. St. Cloud State's lone loss came at the hands of Minot State, as the Beavers used a late fourth quarter lead to defeat the Huskies 82-80. After that, St. Cloud State rattled off three straight wins against its North Dakota based NSIC foes, beating Mary 77-66 the next day before defeating both at home by scores of 79-57 (MARY) and 96-60 (MISU) in February.

22/9.5 – Senior guard Gage Davis (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) has had quite a bit of success in his career against the Marauders and Beavers. In 12 games against the two opponents, Davis has scored a combined 264 points and pulled in 114 rebounds, averaging an impressive 22 points and 9.5 rebounds per game against just Mary and Minot State. He also scored a career-high 38 points (15-23 shooting) against the Beavers as a sophomore and tallied what was then a career-high 17 rebounds in the Huskies 82-71 victory.

56.8 – The Marauders defense has been stout this season, as they've held opponents to an impressively low 56.8 points per game through seven games this season, the lowest average in the NSIC. However, while Mary has been able to hold its opponent's offenses at pay, the Marauders have struggled to score themselves. Mary is currently averaging 67.0 points per game this season, the second lowest average in the NSIC.

66.6 – The only team averaging less points than the Marauders: their in-state rival Minot State. So far this season, the Beavers have averaged just 66.6 points per game while allowing opponents to score roughly 64.2. For comparison, St. Cloud State currently averages well above the Beavers 64.2 scoring defense, as the team has scored 602 points this season to average 86.0 points per game. However, the Huskies also give up an average of 76.9 points per game, the fifth highest average scoring defense in the NSIC this season.

2 – Two student-athletes from St. Cloud State currently rank in the top-5 in the NSIC in defensive stat categories. Junior Trevon Marshall (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston) currently ranks second in the conference in steals, with 14 total this season and average of 2.0 steals per game. However, he isn't the only one ranking in the defensive stats. Senior Sean Smith (Seville, Spain / Canarias Basketball Academy) doesn't just lead the NSIC in total blocks (37) and blocks/game (5.3) by a hefty margin this season, but the nation as well.

Bonus number:
4 – Four Huskies are currently averaging double-digits in scoring this season, all four of whom are seniors. Davis currently leads the team, averaging 20.7 points per game through seven games, while Smith is second with a 15.4 points per game average. However, those aren't the only two scorers making headlines this season. Senior guards Brindley Theisen (St. Cloud, Minn. / Cathedral) and Jace Kitchen (Dekalb, Ill. / Dekalb) are currently averaging career-highs in scoring, as Theisen averages 13.1 and Kitchen 10.6 points per game this season.