Men's basketball to host Wolves, Dragons in divisional play

Friday, February 4

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Northern State University

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Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Men's basketball to host Wolves, Dragons in divisional play

2/3/2022 10:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team has reached the final month of the 2021-22 season. With the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) tournament just three weeks away, the Huskies will open their push for the playoffs this weekend, as they host divisional foes Northern State and MSU-Moorhead.

Friday's tip off against the Wolves is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall, while Saturday's game is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. On Friday, St. Cloud State Athletics will host a pizza party for all students in attendance in the North Balcony of Halenbeck Hall. Pizza will be serves at 6:30 p.m. in between the men's and women's games.

At this time, all fans in attendance will need to wear masks in accordance with the University's policy. Live stats and video will be available for fans who are not in attendance, and fans can tune in to two live radio broadcasts. Score updates will also be posted to the team's Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_MBB).

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

1 - St. Cloud State will honor one senior before Saturday's game against MSU-Moorhead: Daniel Geistler (Norwalk, Iowa / Norwalk). In three seasons with the Huskies, Geistler has appeared in 34 games and played 215 minutes as a forward. He scored a career-high nine points in St. Cloud State's win over Harding earlier this season and set career highs in games, minutes played, rebounds and points as a senior in 2021-22.

802:32 - Junior Anthony Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park) has played an impressive 802:32 minutes this season to average 38:13 minutes per game. Those numbers not only lead the NSIC, but ranks top-5 in all of Division II. Roberts currently ranks third in the country in minutes per game, fourth in minutes played, eleventh in total field goal attempts and thirteenth in total double-doubles.

5/5 - St. Cloud State played one of its best offensive games of the season this past Tuesday, as all five starters scored in double-digits for the first time in 2021-22. The quintuple of Ryan Bagley (Pocatello, Idaho / Burley), Caleb Donaldson (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington), Anthony Roberts (Chigao, Ill. / Oak Park), Matthew Willert (Buffalo, Minn. / Buffalo) and Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis. / Germantown) scored a combined 80 points and led Minnesota State by as many as 15 points early in the game. However, a last second surge by the Mavericks resulted in an 87-80 defeat for the Huskies.

.500 - This weekend has major implications in the NSIC standings, as Northern State, MSU-Moorhead and St. Cloud State all look to solidify their places as the end of the season draws near. With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, both the Wolves and Dragons sit in a three-way tie for second in the NSIC North with match .500 records. Northern State sits ahead of MSU-Moorhead with an 8-8 record, and the Dragons had two games cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols. The Huskies are also battling for a playoff spot, as they sit in sixth in the NSIC North Division with a conference record of 5-8.

18.3 - Willert, a sophomore guard from nearby Buffalo, Minnesota, has been one of St. Cloud State's top shooters in the last three games, averaging 18.3 points against Sioux Falls, SMSU and Minnesota State. Willert led the team with 20 points in the loss to the Mavericks and additionally scored 17 and 18 in the weekend series against the Cougars and Mavericks. This season, Willert has scored double-digits in 15 games, including eight of the last nine.