Huskies season ends at NCAA Regional

Saturday, March 16

Maryville, Mo.

8:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

22-9

Southern Nazarene University

29-5

Southern Nazarene

St. Cloud State

Photo by: Dylan Coldsmith, NWMSU

3/16/2019 10:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MARYVILLE, MO. – The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team's outstanding season came to an end in Maryville, Missouri. Despite a hot start in its opening round game of the NCAA Regional, St. Cloud State fell to Southern Nazarene University by a final score of 81-61.

The Huskies jumped out to an early 11-5 lead, but a late charge by the Crimson Storm allowed them to hold an 40-29 at the half. Southern Nazarene's defense was able to hold St. Cloud State's top scorer Gage Davis (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) to just five points in the opening 20 minutes of play, while Sean Smith (Seville, Spain / Canarias Basketball Academy) and Brindley Theisen (St. Cloud, Minn. / St. Cloud Cathedral) led the way with seven and six points apiece.

The Huskies desperately tried to come back in the second half, but the damage had already been done by the Crimson Storm. St. Cloud State put together a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 10 midway through, but a scoring drought results in an 81-61 victory for Southern Nazarene.

With the loss, the Huskies conclude their season with an overall record of 22-9 and make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The St. Cloud State senior class graduates as one of the most successful in program history, earning two bids to the NCAA Regionals as well as back-to-back 20+ win seasons. Davis ends his career as the top scorer in school, conference and state history as his 25 point performance Saturday evening leaves him with 2599 career points. Theisen and Smith also leave their names in the record books, as does Adam Heede-Andersen (Copenhagen, Denmark / Stenhus Gymnasium) and Jace Kitchen (Dekalb, Ill. / Dekalb), as they all rank in the top-3 in school history in multiple categories.

"I'm incredibly thankful to coach these six seniors," head coach Matt Reimer said in a postgame interview. "They've taken us to new heights that we haven't obtained before. That's why we do what we do as coaches, to experience things we were never meant to experience through them, and I'm incredibly proud of their accomplishments."