Friday, January 26
Mankato, Minn.
7:30 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
at
Minnesota State
Photo by: Jason Soria
St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Prepares for Weekend Road Trip
1/25/2024 5:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Huskies on the road for first time in 20 days, travel to play Minnesota State and Winona State
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (8-10 overall, 4-8 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) will be on the road after playing four straight home games over the last 20 days. The Huskies play No. 5 Minnesota State (17-1, 11-1 NSIC) on Friday and Winona State (10-8, 5-7 NSIC) on Saturday. Tipoff for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT at the Taylor Center in Mankato and Saturday's game is set for 5:30 p.m. CT at McCown Gymnasium in Winona.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
The games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network (Friday's Stream / Saturday's Stream) and broadcasted on The Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast. Live stats will be provided by each home institution (MSU / WSU). Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Assistant coach, Connor O'Brien was a standout four-year starter at Minnesota State, graduating No. 22 on the Mavericks' career scoring list with 1,216 points, fourth all-time in rebounds with 813 and second all-time in blocks with 157. The formidable rim protector led MSU to three NSIC Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances while averaging 10 points, seven rebounds and just over a block per game on 51% shooting. O'Brien started 32 games as a redshirt freshman on the Mavericks' 2010-11 NCAA Final Four team and guided the program to a record 30 wins his senior year. He earned his undergraduate degree from Minnesota State in 2014 and added a master's degree in 2015.
Head coach, Quincy Henderson was a 2023 Winona State Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee and played his final three seasons of collegiate basketball with the Warriors, playing a critical role in one of the most impressive dynasties in DII hoops. Henderson was a three-year starter in Winona, leading the program to NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2008 in addition to a National Finals appearance in 2007. Averaging nine points and five rebounds over his career while providing his trademark rugged defense, Henderson guided Winona State to establish DII records for most consecutive wins (57) and wins in a season (38) in addition to winning three NSIC Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Warriors went 105-6 during his three seasons as a starter. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Winona State in 2007.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game against Minnesota State will mark the 190th meeting between the two programs. St. Cloud State holds a 98-91 all-time advantage. The Mavericks, however, have won the past five meetings including a victory at Halenbeck Hall earlier this season.
MSU set the tone early, bursting out of the gates with a 12-3 advantage. The Huskies trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) provided a spark off the bench with 6 points to cut the deficit to six going into halftime.
The Mavericks surged out of halftime with seven quick points by Malik Willingham and never looked back. St. Cloud State trailed by nine or more points the rest of the way, as MSU earned a comfortable 78-61 victory.
Hawks and Luke Taylor led the Huskies with 10 points, four rebounds and a steal apiece. Jamiir Allen chipped in nine points off the bench and tallied three rebounds and two assists and steals.
Saturday's game against Winona State will be the 142nd meeting between the teams. St. Cloud State holds a 95-46 record in those games. The Huskies have won the past three matchups against the Warriors, including their lone matchup last season.
In last year's matchup, the majority of the first half bounced back and forth – there were 16 total lead changes in the first 20 minutes. The Huskies finished the half on a 7-3 run to take a 39-33 lead into the break. A quick 8-0 run by the Huskies out of the break pushed their lead up to 14 points, forcing a Winona State timeout. Over the next seven minutes, the Warriors started to battle back, using a 13-6 run to cut the lead down to five points with 10:37 left in the game. Then-redshirt freshman Tony Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) stopped the bleeding by cashing a three-pointer to push the SCSU lead back up to eight points. After a WSU layup, a four-minute scoring drought for both teams ensued, but the Warriors were able to end the drought with a free throw, cutting their deficit down to five points. Dahl knocked down another huge three, giving St. Cloud State a 66-58 lead with 5:33 remaining. The Huskies went on to push their lead to 11 after an and-one by Dahl and seemed to be able to sail smoothly to victory with only 3:46 remaining. Winona State, however, did not go away quietly, using a 10-1 run, cutting the lead to two points with just 12 seconds remaining. The Huskies inbounded the ball to Matt Willert who was fouled. Willert, not feeling any pressure, made both free throws to secure a 74-70 victory for St. Cloud State.
Willert finished the game with 14 points, a career-high seven assists and five rebounds. Taylor nearly recorded a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds while also tallying two blocks and two assists. Dahl finished the game with nine points and two rebounds.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE
Since the team's meeting in November, MSU has won 14 of their 15 games by an average of 22 points. The Mavericks currently sit in first place in the NSIC with a record of 17-1 and a conference record of 11-1. They are ranked No. 5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll and received two of 16 first place votes. Minnesota State has five players scoring in double-digits on the year and average a conference-high 91.6 points per game.
Senior guard Malik Willingham is the seventh leading scorer in the conference with an average of 18.8 points per game on 43% from the field, 35% from beyond the arc and 86% from the free throw line. Willingham also averages four rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The senior has been in a slump as he has scored less than his average in three consecutive games.
Junior guard Justin Eagins is the team's second leading scorer as he averages 13.6 points per game on 47% from the field and 44% from three-point range. Eagins leads the team in assists with 3.3 per game and averages 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The junior guard has scored 15+ points in two of his past three games including two 16-point outings against Bemidji State and Minot State.
Junior guard Kyreese Willingham is the final Maverick that exceeds 13 points per game as he averages 13.4 points on 54% from the field and 34% from three-point range. Willingham is third on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game and averages 1.3 assists. The Waseca, Minn. native has scored 13+ points in five consecutive games including his second highest scoring output of the season, 21 points, against Minot State.
In the matchup against St. Cloud State this year, the Willingham brothers both scored at 20 points – Malik scored 21 and Kyreese scored 20. Malik recorded four rebounds, four assists, three three-pointers and a block while Kyreese grabbed six rebounds, dished two assists and recorded a block. Eagins was the only other Maverick to score in double figures as he notched 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, registered three assists, tallied two three-pointers and two steals.
Matt Margenthaler is in his 22nd year at the helm for Minnesota State. Margenthaler is a three-time NSIC Coach of the Year – earning those honors in 2010, 2011 and 2014. During his tenure, Margenthaler has only experienced two losing seasons and has seen his teams win 20+ games in 13 seasons. Margenthaler is closing in on 500 career wins and has posted an overall record of 470-210 in his 22 seasons.
SCOUTING WINONA STATE
Winona State enters this weekend with an overall record of 10-8 and a 5-7 conference record. The Warriors currently sit in ninth place in the NSIC after having dropped four of their past five games.
Junior guard Connor Dillon leads the offensive attack of the Warriors, averaging 21.0 points per game, the second highest mark in the NSIC. Dillon shoots 45% from the field, 32% from three-point range while averaging 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. For his standards, Dillon has struggled as he has failed to reach his scoring average in five of the past six games. Dillon, however, did have a 32-point outing in a win against UMary last weekend.
Junior forward Connor Drew is the team's second leading scorer with 10.9 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game. Drew is shooting 42% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc in 26.4 minutes per game. Drew has scored 12+ points in three of his past six games including a 16-point outing against Minnesota Crookston.
In the matchup against the Huskies last season, Dillon was held in check as he scored 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Drew nearly recorded a double-double with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Todd Eisner is in his ninth season as the Warriors head coach. Eisner holds a record of 125-105 and has registered a winning season in all but two seasons during his tenure. Eisner has been coaching for 25 years with stops at Viterbo University, Bellevue University, Benedictine College and Midland University prior to being hired by Winona State in 2015. The Creighton graduate has posted a record of 521-271 in his tenure.
The Warriors will take on MSU Moorhead on Friday before playing the Huskies on Saturday. Winona State holds a record of 5-3 at home this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, St. Cloud State hosted Wayne State and Augustana in conference clashes. The first half of Friday's game against Wayne State was tightly contested throughout the first nine minutes of action. The Wildcats held a 14-13 lead and started to gain separation in part to a 7-2 run. Wayne State led 26-19 with 4:42 left in the half, but freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) capped off an 8-0 Huskies run by sinking a corner three-pointer with 34 seconds left, giving the Huskies a 27-26 lead. Wayne State got its lead right back after Alec Millender finished a layup with three seconds left in the half.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 34% from the field and a lowly 18% from beyond the arc. Wayne State was clicking on all cylinders on offense, shooting 50% from the field and 60% from three-point range.
The Wildcats picked up right where they left off, starting the second half scoring on their first two offensive possessions, taking a 32-27 lead. The Huskies started to find their offensive footing, using an 18-6 run over the next six minutes to flip the script on the Wildcats and take a 45-38 lead. The Huskies continued to push the lead as senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) drilled a three-pointer to finish off a 10-4 run, giving St. Cloud State a 57-44 with 7:50 left in the game. The Huskies led by double-digits for the remainder of the game and came out victorious with a 79-61 win.
After struggling offensively in the first 20 minutes, the Huskies went nuclear in the second half shooting 72% from the field and drained six of their nine three-point attempts. SCSU outscored Wayne State 52-33 in the second half and were able to put the game away at the free throw line by making 10 of their 12 attempts in the closing minutes.
Ramlall led the Huskies in scoring, tallying 15 points on 50% shooting. The freshman also recorded five assists, three rebounds, two three-pointers and two steals. Ramlall continues to be a maestro offensively – he has dished out two or more assists in nine consecutive games with 4+ assists coming in four of those games. Ramlall has also registered a steal in five consecutive games.
Freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) stuffed the stat sheet for SCSU, scoring 12 points, recording a career-high five assists, grabbing four rebounds, registering two steals and blocking one shot. Morgan has now scored 7+ points in five consecutive games while exceeding 12 points in three of those games.
Freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) was the final Husky that scored double-digits, with 11 points. He also posted a steal and a three-pointer. Allen has scored in double-digits for the eight consecutive games while cashing a three-pointer in each of those games.
On Saturday, in the Huskies second game of the weekend, Augustana jumped out to an early 12-5 lead after reigning NSIC Player of the Week Isaac Fink finished a layup. St. Cloud State slowly started to crawl back into the game, using a 7-2 run to cut the Augustana lead down to five points with 9:32 left in the half. Augustana punched back with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 31-16 lead. Allen finished a driving layup with three seconds left in the half to bring the Huskies within nine points at halftime.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively, shooting 37% from the field and 33% from three-point land. The Vikings shot 44% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. Augustana turned the Huskies over six times in the first half and were able to score 10 points off those turnovers.
Augustana comfortably led by double-digits for most of the second half, but St. Cloud State did not go away quietly. The Huskies started to build momentum late in the game, using a 5-0 run to cut the Vikings lead to six points with 5:16 left in the game. When looking for a stop on the defensive end, SCSU fouled Fink on a three-point shot, halting all its momentum. Fink made all three foul shots and the Vikings led by seven or more points for the remainder of the game, going on to beat St. Cloud State 77-66.
Augustana had five players score in double-digits. Arhman Lewis led the way with 17 points and Jadan Graves scored 16 points on 44% shooting. The Vikings capitalized on 20 of their 25 free throw attempts in the second half, to put the Huskies away.
Graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) scored a team-high 10 points on 50% shooting. Taylor also grabbed three rebounds and cashed two of his three three-point attempts. Taylor has now scored 10+ points in 10 games this season and has made a three-pointer in four consecutive games.
Allen was the only other Husky to score in double-figures, tallying 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. The freshman extended his scoring streak of 10+ points to nine consecutive games but snapped his three-point make streak which stood at eight consecutive games.
Freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked one shot and made a three-pointer in 24 minutes of play. Peiffer has now scored five or more points in nine straight games.
Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
1,000-POINTS (& COUNTING)
St. Cloud State senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) became the 46th member of the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball 1,000-point club in the 68-61 win at UMary on December 12. Willert scored a game-high 16 points, including six points after he reached 1,000. He ended the night with 1,006 career points, moving him up to No. 45 on the all-time scoring list. He current sits at No. 36 with 1,089 points. Willert has played in 92 games (2,479 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.8 points per game for his career on 361-of-853 (42.3%) shooting from the field, 174-506 (34.4%) from three and 193-224 (86.2%) from the free throw line.
SHINING STAR
St. Cloud State freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) was named to the NSIC Men's Basketball Shining 5 by the league office on Nov. 11 for his efforts in his first two collegiate games. He averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in just 24.5 minutes per game during the 2-0 weekend for the Huskies in Kansas City. He shot 68.4% (13-of-19) from the field and 57.1% (4-of-7) from behind the three-point line over the weekend. In his collegiate debut on Friday, he erupted for 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in an 80-73 win over Pittsburg State. In just his second collegiate game ever, he recorded his first career double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) in a 74-64 win over Henderson State.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
The games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network (Friday's Stream / Saturday's Stream) and broadcasted on The Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast. Live stats will be provided by each home institution (MSU / WSU). Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Assistant coach, Connor O'Brien was a standout four-year starter at Minnesota State, graduating No. 22 on the Mavericks' career scoring list with 1,216 points, fourth all-time in rebounds with 813 and second all-time in blocks with 157. The formidable rim protector led MSU to three NSIC Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances while averaging 10 points, seven rebounds and just over a block per game on 51% shooting. O'Brien started 32 games as a redshirt freshman on the Mavericks' 2010-11 NCAA Final Four team and guided the program to a record 30 wins his senior year. He earned his undergraduate degree from Minnesota State in 2014 and added a master's degree in 2015.
Head coach, Quincy Henderson was a 2023 Winona State Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee and played his final three seasons of collegiate basketball with the Warriors, playing a critical role in one of the most impressive dynasties in DII hoops. Henderson was a three-year starter in Winona, leading the program to NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2008 in addition to a National Finals appearance in 2007. Averaging nine points and five rebounds over his career while providing his trademark rugged defense, Henderson guided Winona State to establish DII records for most consecutive wins (57) and wins in a season (38) in addition to winning three NSIC Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Warriors went 105-6 during his three seasons as a starter. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Winona State in 2007.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game against Minnesota State will mark the 190th meeting between the two programs. St. Cloud State holds a 98-91 all-time advantage. The Mavericks, however, have won the past five meetings including a victory at Halenbeck Hall earlier this season.
MSU set the tone early, bursting out of the gates with a 12-3 advantage. The Huskies trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) provided a spark off the bench with 6 points to cut the deficit to six going into halftime.
The Mavericks surged out of halftime with seven quick points by Malik Willingham and never looked back. St. Cloud State trailed by nine or more points the rest of the way, as MSU earned a comfortable 78-61 victory.
Hawks and Luke Taylor led the Huskies with 10 points, four rebounds and a steal apiece. Jamiir Allen chipped in nine points off the bench and tallied three rebounds and two assists and steals.
Saturday's game against Winona State will be the 142nd meeting between the teams. St. Cloud State holds a 95-46 record in those games. The Huskies have won the past three matchups against the Warriors, including their lone matchup last season.
In last year's matchup, the majority of the first half bounced back and forth – there were 16 total lead changes in the first 20 minutes. The Huskies finished the half on a 7-3 run to take a 39-33 lead into the break. A quick 8-0 run by the Huskies out of the break pushed their lead up to 14 points, forcing a Winona State timeout. Over the next seven minutes, the Warriors started to battle back, using a 13-6 run to cut the lead down to five points with 10:37 left in the game. Then-redshirt freshman Tony Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) stopped the bleeding by cashing a three-pointer to push the SCSU lead back up to eight points. After a WSU layup, a four-minute scoring drought for both teams ensued, but the Warriors were able to end the drought with a free throw, cutting their deficit down to five points. Dahl knocked down another huge three, giving St. Cloud State a 66-58 lead with 5:33 remaining. The Huskies went on to push their lead to 11 after an and-one by Dahl and seemed to be able to sail smoothly to victory with only 3:46 remaining. Winona State, however, did not go away quietly, using a 10-1 run, cutting the lead to two points with just 12 seconds remaining. The Huskies inbounded the ball to Matt Willert who was fouled. Willert, not feeling any pressure, made both free throws to secure a 74-70 victory for St. Cloud State.
Willert finished the game with 14 points, a career-high seven assists and five rebounds. Taylor nearly recorded a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds while also tallying two blocks and two assists. Dahl finished the game with nine points and two rebounds.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE
Since the team's meeting in November, MSU has won 14 of their 15 games by an average of 22 points. The Mavericks currently sit in first place in the NSIC with a record of 17-1 and a conference record of 11-1. They are ranked No. 5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll and received two of 16 first place votes. Minnesota State has five players scoring in double-digits on the year and average a conference-high 91.6 points per game.
Senior guard Malik Willingham is the seventh leading scorer in the conference with an average of 18.8 points per game on 43% from the field, 35% from beyond the arc and 86% from the free throw line. Willingham also averages four rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The senior has been in a slump as he has scored less than his average in three consecutive games.
Junior guard Justin Eagins is the team's second leading scorer as he averages 13.6 points per game on 47% from the field and 44% from three-point range. Eagins leads the team in assists with 3.3 per game and averages 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The junior guard has scored 15+ points in two of his past three games including two 16-point outings against Bemidji State and Minot State.
Junior guard Kyreese Willingham is the final Maverick that exceeds 13 points per game as he averages 13.4 points on 54% from the field and 34% from three-point range. Willingham is third on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game and averages 1.3 assists. The Waseca, Minn. native has scored 13+ points in five consecutive games including his second highest scoring output of the season, 21 points, against Minot State.
In the matchup against St. Cloud State this year, the Willingham brothers both scored at 20 points – Malik scored 21 and Kyreese scored 20. Malik recorded four rebounds, four assists, three three-pointers and a block while Kyreese grabbed six rebounds, dished two assists and recorded a block. Eagins was the only other Maverick to score in double figures as he notched 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, registered three assists, tallied two three-pointers and two steals.
Matt Margenthaler is in his 22nd year at the helm for Minnesota State. Margenthaler is a three-time NSIC Coach of the Year – earning those honors in 2010, 2011 and 2014. During his tenure, Margenthaler has only experienced two losing seasons and has seen his teams win 20+ games in 13 seasons. Margenthaler is closing in on 500 career wins and has posted an overall record of 470-210 in his 22 seasons.
SCOUTING WINONA STATE
Winona State enters this weekend with an overall record of 10-8 and a 5-7 conference record. The Warriors currently sit in ninth place in the NSIC after having dropped four of their past five games.
Junior guard Connor Dillon leads the offensive attack of the Warriors, averaging 21.0 points per game, the second highest mark in the NSIC. Dillon shoots 45% from the field, 32% from three-point range while averaging 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. For his standards, Dillon has struggled as he has failed to reach his scoring average in five of the past six games. Dillon, however, did have a 32-point outing in a win against UMary last weekend.
Junior forward Connor Drew is the team's second leading scorer with 10.9 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game. Drew is shooting 42% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc in 26.4 minutes per game. Drew has scored 12+ points in three of his past six games including a 16-point outing against Minnesota Crookston.
In the matchup against the Huskies last season, Dillon was held in check as he scored 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Drew nearly recorded a double-double with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Todd Eisner is in his ninth season as the Warriors head coach. Eisner holds a record of 125-105 and has registered a winning season in all but two seasons during his tenure. Eisner has been coaching for 25 years with stops at Viterbo University, Bellevue University, Benedictine College and Midland University prior to being hired by Winona State in 2015. The Creighton graduate has posted a record of 521-271 in his tenure.
The Warriors will take on MSU Moorhead on Friday before playing the Huskies on Saturday. Winona State holds a record of 5-3 at home this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, St. Cloud State hosted Wayne State and Augustana in conference clashes. The first half of Friday's game against Wayne State was tightly contested throughout the first nine minutes of action. The Wildcats held a 14-13 lead and started to gain separation in part to a 7-2 run. Wayne State led 26-19 with 4:42 left in the half, but freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) capped off an 8-0 Huskies run by sinking a corner three-pointer with 34 seconds left, giving the Huskies a 27-26 lead. Wayne State got its lead right back after Alec Millender finished a layup with three seconds left in the half.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 34% from the field and a lowly 18% from beyond the arc. Wayne State was clicking on all cylinders on offense, shooting 50% from the field and 60% from three-point range.
The Wildcats picked up right where they left off, starting the second half scoring on their first two offensive possessions, taking a 32-27 lead. The Huskies started to find their offensive footing, using an 18-6 run over the next six minutes to flip the script on the Wildcats and take a 45-38 lead. The Huskies continued to push the lead as senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) drilled a three-pointer to finish off a 10-4 run, giving St. Cloud State a 57-44 with 7:50 left in the game. The Huskies led by double-digits for the remainder of the game and came out victorious with a 79-61 win.
After struggling offensively in the first 20 minutes, the Huskies went nuclear in the second half shooting 72% from the field and drained six of their nine three-point attempts. SCSU outscored Wayne State 52-33 in the second half and were able to put the game away at the free throw line by making 10 of their 12 attempts in the closing minutes.
Ramlall led the Huskies in scoring, tallying 15 points on 50% shooting. The freshman also recorded five assists, three rebounds, two three-pointers and two steals. Ramlall continues to be a maestro offensively – he has dished out two or more assists in nine consecutive games with 4+ assists coming in four of those games. Ramlall has also registered a steal in five consecutive games.
Freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) stuffed the stat sheet for SCSU, scoring 12 points, recording a career-high five assists, grabbing four rebounds, registering two steals and blocking one shot. Morgan has now scored 7+ points in five consecutive games while exceeding 12 points in three of those games.
Freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) was the final Husky that scored double-digits, with 11 points. He also posted a steal and a three-pointer. Allen has scored in double-digits for the eight consecutive games while cashing a three-pointer in each of those games.
On Saturday, in the Huskies second game of the weekend, Augustana jumped out to an early 12-5 lead after reigning NSIC Player of the Week Isaac Fink finished a layup. St. Cloud State slowly started to crawl back into the game, using a 7-2 run to cut the Augustana lead down to five points with 9:32 left in the half. Augustana punched back with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 31-16 lead. Allen finished a driving layup with three seconds left in the half to bring the Huskies within nine points at halftime.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively, shooting 37% from the field and 33% from three-point land. The Vikings shot 44% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. Augustana turned the Huskies over six times in the first half and were able to score 10 points off those turnovers.
Augustana comfortably led by double-digits for most of the second half, but St. Cloud State did not go away quietly. The Huskies started to build momentum late in the game, using a 5-0 run to cut the Vikings lead to six points with 5:16 left in the game. When looking for a stop on the defensive end, SCSU fouled Fink on a three-point shot, halting all its momentum. Fink made all three foul shots and the Vikings led by seven or more points for the remainder of the game, going on to beat St. Cloud State 77-66.
Augustana had five players score in double-digits. Arhman Lewis led the way with 17 points and Jadan Graves scored 16 points on 44% shooting. The Vikings capitalized on 20 of their 25 free throw attempts in the second half, to put the Huskies away.
Graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) scored a team-high 10 points on 50% shooting. Taylor also grabbed three rebounds and cashed two of his three three-point attempts. Taylor has now scored 10+ points in 10 games this season and has made a three-pointer in four consecutive games.
Allen was the only other Husky to score in double-figures, tallying 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. The freshman extended his scoring streak of 10+ points to nine consecutive games but snapped his three-point make streak which stood at eight consecutive games.
Freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) scored nine points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked one shot and made a three-pointer in 24 minutes of play. Peiffer has now scored five or more points in nine straight games.
Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
1,000-POINTS (& COUNTING)
St. Cloud State senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) became the 46th member of the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball 1,000-point club in the 68-61 win at UMary on December 12. Willert scored a game-high 16 points, including six points after he reached 1,000. He ended the night with 1,006 career points, moving him up to No. 45 on the all-time scoring list. He current sits at No. 36 with 1,089 points. Willert has played in 92 games (2,479 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.8 points per game for his career on 361-of-853 (42.3%) shooting from the field, 174-506 (34.4%) from three and 193-224 (86.2%) from the free throw line.
SHINING STAR
St. Cloud State freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) was named to the NSIC Men's Basketball Shining 5 by the league office on Nov. 11 for his efforts in his first two collegiate games. He averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in just 24.5 minutes per game during the 2-0 weekend for the Huskies in Kansas City. He shot 68.4% (13-of-19) from the field and 57.1% (4-of-7) from behind the three-point line over the weekend. In his collegiate debut on Friday, he erupted for 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in an 80-73 win over Pittsburg State. In just his second collegiate game ever, he recorded his first career double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) in a 74-64 win over Henderson State.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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