Thursday, February 1
Crookston, Minn.
7:30 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
at
Minnesota Crookston
Photo by: Jacob Sanders
St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Readies for Minnesota Crookston, Northern State
1/31/2024 1:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Huskies look to snap three-game losing streak
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (8-12 overall, 4-10 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) concludes its three-game road stretch on Thursday when it travels to Minnesota Crookston (6-15, 3-12 NSIC) on Thursday. The Huskies will then welcome Northern State (7-13, 5-9 NSIC) to St. Cloud Saturday. Tipoff for Thursday game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston and Saturday's game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Tickets to Saturday's game are available at scsutickets.com. The games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network (Thursday'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 both games and the livestream on Saturday. Live stats will be provided by each home institution (UMC / SCSU). Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.
LAST TIME OUT
The Huskies were on the road last weekend, traveling to Minnesota State on Friday and Winona State on Saturday. The Mavericks burst out of the gates on Friday, opening the game on a 9-3 run with three-pointers by Malik and Kyreese Willingham. St. Cloud State rallied from that deficit, as a three-pointer by freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) brought the Huskies within two-points, setting the score at 10-12. Over the next two minutes, MSU grew its lead to 12-points after a 10-0 run was capped off by a layup from Brady Williams. St. Cloud State remained within striking distance after freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) nailed a three-pointer with 6:43 left in the half, bringing the Huskies within eight points. The Mavericks then started to take command of the game, with a 10-0 to give them an 18-point lead at halftime.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively, shooting 31% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. MSU, on the other hand, was lights out, shooting 48% from the field and an unworldly 66% from three, making eight of their 12 attempts.
The second half picked up for the Huskies offensively as they shot 41% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc but the Huskies defense allowed the Minnesota State to shoot 54% from the field. The Mavericks outscored SCSU 45-42 in the second half. MSU went on to win 88-67 after holding a 14+ point lead for the entirety of the second half.
Four Mavericks scored in double-digits as Kyreese Willingham scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Off the bench, Malcolm Jones recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Nate Dahl tied a team-high with 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench. He shot 50% from the field and made two of his three three-point attempts while recording a steal and two rebounds. Allen was the only other Husky to score in double-digits with 10 points. The freshman extended his streak of double-digit scoring to 10 consecutive games. Allen also recorded two steals and two rebounds while setting a career-high of five free throw makes. Junior Dom Aguilar (Fergus Falls, Minn.) scored a season-high eight points in eight minutes off the bench. Aguilar also tied his season-high with two three-pointers made and grabbed two rebounds.
St. Cloud State opened the game on a 5-0 run at Winona State on Saturday and held a moderate lead throughout most of the first half. The game was tied at 20 with 7:02 left in the first half, before the Warriors started to take control of the game, closing the half on a 16-6 run, making five of their last seven field goal attempts. Winona State held a 36-26 lead at the break after a buzzer-beating three-pointer by graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) was called off after review.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively, only connecting on only 9-of-26 field goal attempts and shot 12% from three-point range. Despite the offensive struggles, the Huskies were able to keep pace by making all seven of their free throw attempts. Winona State shot 50% from the field and 40% from downtown.
Taylor opened the second half for the Huskies with a layup, but WSU countered with a 9-2 run, taking a 45-30 lead with 14:45 remaining in the game. St. Cloud State slowly started to chip away as freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) capped off a 12-4 Huskies run by making two free throws. The Huskies trailed 49-42 with 9:51 left in the game, but Winona State put the game away as Brock Voigt slammed home a dunk, capping off an 8-0 Warriors run to take a 15-point lead with 6:13 left. The Warriors went go on to beat St. Cloud State 77-69.
Voigt finished the game with 22 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal while shooting 70% from the floor.
Connor Dillion scored a game-high 23 points while also recording four made three-pointers, three assists, rebounds and steals as well as a block.
Morgan nearly recorded his second career double-double with a 16-point, nine rebound performance. The Australian also made two three-pointers and recorded one block and steal. Morgan has now recorded a steal in four consecutive games. Nate Dahl also nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Dahl made a career-high eight free throws and has scored 7+ points in four of his past six games. Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) was the final Husky that scored in double digits as he scored 10 points, grabbed three rebounds and recorded a steal. Hawks also shot 50% from the floor and has exceeded that percentage in six of his past seven games.
Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
Thursday's game against Minnesota Crookston will be the 42nd all-time meeting between the programs. The Huskies hold a 37-4 advantage. St. Cloud State has beaten the Golden Eagles in eight consecutive matchups including earlier this season at Halenbeck Hall.
In the game earlier this year, the Huskies surged out to an 8-0 thanks to Luke Taylor, who scored five points in the opening five minutes. The Huskies led by eight points multiple times in the first half, but the Golden Eagles found their wings and ended the first half on a 12-2 including a go ahead and-one layup with one second left in the half.
The Huskies found themselves flying coming out of the halftime break, opening the half on a 15-0 run, turning what was a three-point halftime deficit into a 12-point lead. During that run, the duo of senior Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) and freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) set up 11 of the 15 points including an and-one layup by Peiffer that was set up by Mutimer after he froze his defender with a hesitation dribble to get in the lane, drew in the weakside defender and then dumped it down into Peiffer who made the layup and converted on the and-one. Peiffer splashed a three-pointer off another dime by Mutimer to cap off the 15-0 run. Peiffer finished the game scoring a career-high 10 points. St. Cloud led the rest of the game despite UMC coming within one point of the Huskies. In the final 7:35 of the game, St. Cloud iced the game by making 10 of their 14 free throw attempts to come away with a 64-60 victory.
Jamiir Allen led the Huskies in scoring as he registered 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and two made three pointers in 23 minutes off the bench. Lucas Morgan nearly notched his second career double-double as he recorded nine points, tied his career-high of 11 rebounds while setting a career-high of 10 defensive rebounds and tallied three steals and two blocks.
Saturday's game against Northern State will be the 61st meeting between the programs. The Huskies hold a near 31-29 advantage, but Northern State has won the past seven games including their matchup earlier this season.
That game was tightly contested and went back and forth. St. Cloud State held a lead as big as seven-points in the first half after a three pointer by Mutimer. Northern quickly responded with a 10-2 run to take a one-point lead halfway through the first half. A thunderous dunk by Taylor started a 6-0 run for the Huskies. The Wolves quickly responded again with back-to-back threes by Jacksen Moni and as a team, knocked down a three in four-straight scoring possessions. NSU ended the half on a 16-6 run, taking a six-point lead into the break. Northern shot a blistering 55% from beyond the arc in the first half while generating 11 three-point makes. St. Cloud State trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half but never let the game get out of hand. Senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) was fouled on a three-point attempt with 8:47 left in the game as the Huskies began their comeback attempt. Willert calmly made all three free throws, nailed a jumper in the paint, blocked a jump shot by Moni and then drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing fastbreak to bring the Huskies within five. SCSU continued to battle as the lead was cut down to four points after a dunk by Taylor and a deep three by Willert, but Northern iced the game by making nine of their 11 free throws attempts in the final six minutes of the game to earn an 83-77 victory.
Taylor led the Huskies with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Off the bench, Willert scored a season-high 20 points, cashed three three-pointers and grabbed four rebounds.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Minnesota Crookston comes into this matchup with a record of 6-15 and a 3-12 conference record to place them 13th in the NSIC. Last past weekend, Minnesota Crookston lost to Minnesota Duluth, 62-72, on Friday and beat Concordia-St. Paul, 84-82, on Saturday. The Golden Eagles have dropped five of their last six games.
Junior guard Blaize Sagna currently leads the conference in scoring with 22.9 points per game on 46% from the field and 43% from three-point range. Sagna also averages 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists per game. The junior has been a flamethrower for the Golden Eagles, scoring 23+ points in four of his past six games including a season high 36 points against Winona State, a 30-point outing against Southwest Minnesota State and a 34-point performance against Concordia-St. Paul.
Junior guard Reid Grant is the only other Golden Eagles that scores in double-digits with an average of 14.1 points per game on 50% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. Grant is seventh in the NSIC in assists per game with 3.6 and averages 3.5 rebounds per game. The junior has scored 15+ points in three consecutive games including a 19-point outing against Minnesota Duluth.
Junior forward Aguek Deng nearly averages a double-double with 6.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Deng is the best shot blocker in the NSIC, averaging a conference-leading 1.9 blocks per game. In their last outing against Concordia-St. Paul, Deng scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, blocked four shots and nabbed two steals.
Against St. Cloud State, Sagna was held in check, only scoring 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Grant was the team's second leading scorer with 14 points and tallied eight assists and five rebounds. Deng nearly registered a double-double with 16 points and seven rebounds while swatting five shots and recording two steals.
Head coach Bryan Beamish is in his second season as the head coach after spending the previous eight seasons as an assistant and associate coach for the program. Beamish posted a 2-26 record in his inaugural season which was tied for the second lowest win total in program history. Beamish hopes to turn around a program that has only produced one winning season since the 1992-1993 season.
Minnesota Crookston Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
SCOUTING NORTHERN STATE
The Northern State Wolves come into the matchup posting a 7-13 record and a 5-9 conference record to place them 11th in the NSIC. The Wolves were swept last weekend, losing 82-76 to Sioux Falls on Friday and 80-46 against Southwest Minnesota State Saturday. Northern State has lost five of its last six games.
Junior Jacksen Moni is currently the fifth leading scorer in the conference with an average of 20.3 points on 43% shooting from the field and 34% from three-point range. Moni is also the third leading rebounder in the conference with an average of 8.2 per game. The junior is second on the team in assists with 3.4 per game. Despite only scoring six points against Southwest Minnesota State, Moni had scored 20+ points in five consecutive games including a 35-point bombardment against Sioux Falls.
Junior guard Josh Dilling is right behind Moni with 19.3 points per game, which is the sixth highest mark in the conference. Dilling possesses a flamethrower as he shoots 54% from the field and 47% from beyond the arc. The Oshkosh, Wis. native also averages a team-high 3.9 assists per game and 4.5 rebounds per game. The past three games have seen Dilling unable to reach his scoring average but recorded 27 points against Concordia-St. Paul.
In the matchup against the Huskies earlier in the season, Moni and Dilling were unstoppable, combining for 62 of Northern's 83 points. Moni scored a career-high 38 points with 16 rebounds while making seven of his nine three-point attempts. Moni also recorded four assists, three blocks and a steal. Dilling was just as hot as Moni, dropping 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field while making five of his six three-point attempts. Dilling also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
Saul Phillips is in his fifth season at the helm of the program and has posted a record of 96-40. Phillips and his teams have not won less than 19 games in his tenure at Northern State. The NSIC awarded Phillips Coach of the Year honors last year after the Wolves posted a 24-7 record and Phillips surpassed the 300-career win mark. Phillips first started his career at North Dakota State in 2007 and captured 134 wins in his seven years there. Ohio University sought after Phillips and hired him in 2014. Phillips put together an 81-77 record before coming to Northern State in 2019.
Northern State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
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 tied for No. 35 with 1,091 points. Willert has played in 94 games (2,502 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.6 points per game for his career on 362-of-862 (42.0%) shooting from the field, 174-512 (34.0%) 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
Tickets to Saturday's game are available at scsutickets.com. The games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network (Thursday'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 both games and the livestream on Saturday. Live stats will be provided by each home institution (UMC / SCSU). Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.
LAST TIME OUT
The Huskies were on the road last weekend, traveling to Minnesota State on Friday and Winona State on Saturday. The Mavericks burst out of the gates on Friday, opening the game on a 9-3 run with three-pointers by Malik and Kyreese Willingham. St. Cloud State rallied from that deficit, as a three-pointer by freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) brought the Huskies within two-points, setting the score at 10-12. Over the next two minutes, MSU grew its lead to 12-points after a 10-0 run was capped off by a layup from Brady Williams. St. Cloud State remained within striking distance after freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) nailed a three-pointer with 6:43 left in the half, bringing the Huskies within eight points. The Mavericks then started to take command of the game, with a 10-0 to give them an 18-point lead at halftime.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively, shooting 31% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. MSU, on the other hand, was lights out, shooting 48% from the field and an unworldly 66% from three, making eight of their 12 attempts.
The second half picked up for the Huskies offensively as they shot 41% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc but the Huskies defense allowed the Minnesota State to shoot 54% from the field. The Mavericks outscored SCSU 45-42 in the second half. MSU went on to win 88-67 after holding a 14+ point lead for the entirety of the second half.
Four Mavericks scored in double-digits as Kyreese Willingham scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Off the bench, Malcolm Jones recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Nate Dahl tied a team-high with 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench. He shot 50% from the field and made two of his three three-point attempts while recording a steal and two rebounds. Allen was the only other Husky to score in double-digits with 10 points. The freshman extended his streak of double-digit scoring to 10 consecutive games. Allen also recorded two steals and two rebounds while setting a career-high of five free throw makes. Junior Dom Aguilar (Fergus Falls, Minn.) scored a season-high eight points in eight minutes off the bench. Aguilar also tied his season-high with two three-pointers made and grabbed two rebounds.
St. Cloud State opened the game on a 5-0 run at Winona State on Saturday and held a moderate lead throughout most of the first half. The game was tied at 20 with 7:02 left in the first half, before the Warriors started to take control of the game, closing the half on a 16-6 run, making five of their last seven field goal attempts. Winona State held a 36-26 lead at the break after a buzzer-beating three-pointer by graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) was called off after review.
St. Cloud State struggled offensively, only connecting on only 9-of-26 field goal attempts and shot 12% from three-point range. Despite the offensive struggles, the Huskies were able to keep pace by making all seven of their free throw attempts. Winona State shot 50% from the field and 40% from downtown.
Taylor opened the second half for the Huskies with a layup, but WSU countered with a 9-2 run, taking a 45-30 lead with 14:45 remaining in the game. St. Cloud State slowly started to chip away as freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) capped off a 12-4 Huskies run by making two free throws. The Huskies trailed 49-42 with 9:51 left in the game, but Winona State put the game away as Brock Voigt slammed home a dunk, capping off an 8-0 Warriors run to take a 15-point lead with 6:13 left. The Warriors went go on to beat St. Cloud State 77-69.
Voigt finished the game with 22 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal while shooting 70% from the floor.
Connor Dillion scored a game-high 23 points while also recording four made three-pointers, three assists, rebounds and steals as well as a block.
Morgan nearly recorded his second career double-double with a 16-point, nine rebound performance. The Australian also made two three-pointers and recorded one block and steal. Morgan has now recorded a steal in four consecutive games. Nate Dahl also nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Dahl made a career-high eight free throws and has scored 7+ points in four of his past six games. Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) was the final Husky that scored in double digits as he scored 10 points, grabbed three rebounds and recorded a steal. Hawks also shot 50% from the floor and has exceeded that percentage in six of his past seven games.
Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
- 74.9 points per game (8th) | 75.6 points per game allowed (12th) | -0.7 scoring margin (11th)
- 42.8 field goal percentage (14th) | 34.1 three-point percentage (10th) | 72.8 free throw percentage (9th)
- 46.3 opponent field goal percentage (12th) | 37.9 opponent three-point percentage (15th)
- 37 rebounds per game (6th) | 10.7 offensive rebounds per game (5th)
- 36.4 opponent rebounds per game (11th) | 0.6 rebounding margin (11th)
- 10.9 turnovers per game (6th) | 0.8 turnover margin (7th)
- 1.95 blocks per game (13th)
- 13.2 assists per game (7th)
- 5.7 steals per game (8th)
Thursday's game against Minnesota Crookston will be the 42nd all-time meeting between the programs. The Huskies hold a 37-4 advantage. St. Cloud State has beaten the Golden Eagles in eight consecutive matchups including earlier this season at Halenbeck Hall.
In the game earlier this year, the Huskies surged out to an 8-0 thanks to Luke Taylor, who scored five points in the opening five minutes. The Huskies led by eight points multiple times in the first half, but the Golden Eagles found their wings and ended the first half on a 12-2 including a go ahead and-one layup with one second left in the half.
The Huskies found themselves flying coming out of the halftime break, opening the half on a 15-0 run, turning what was a three-point halftime deficit into a 12-point lead. During that run, the duo of senior Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) and freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) set up 11 of the 15 points including an and-one layup by Peiffer that was set up by Mutimer after he froze his defender with a hesitation dribble to get in the lane, drew in the weakside defender and then dumped it down into Peiffer who made the layup and converted on the and-one. Peiffer splashed a three-pointer off another dime by Mutimer to cap off the 15-0 run. Peiffer finished the game scoring a career-high 10 points. St. Cloud led the rest of the game despite UMC coming within one point of the Huskies. In the final 7:35 of the game, St. Cloud iced the game by making 10 of their 14 free throw attempts to come away with a 64-60 victory.
Jamiir Allen led the Huskies in scoring as he registered 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and two made three pointers in 23 minutes off the bench. Lucas Morgan nearly notched his second career double-double as he recorded nine points, tied his career-high of 11 rebounds while setting a career-high of 10 defensive rebounds and tallied three steals and two blocks.
Saturday's game against Northern State will be the 61st meeting between the programs. The Huskies hold a near 31-29 advantage, but Northern State has won the past seven games including their matchup earlier this season.
That game was tightly contested and went back and forth. St. Cloud State held a lead as big as seven-points in the first half after a three pointer by Mutimer. Northern quickly responded with a 10-2 run to take a one-point lead halfway through the first half. A thunderous dunk by Taylor started a 6-0 run for the Huskies. The Wolves quickly responded again with back-to-back threes by Jacksen Moni and as a team, knocked down a three in four-straight scoring possessions. NSU ended the half on a 16-6 run, taking a six-point lead into the break. Northern shot a blistering 55% from beyond the arc in the first half while generating 11 three-point makes. St. Cloud State trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half but never let the game get out of hand. Senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) was fouled on a three-point attempt with 8:47 left in the game as the Huskies began their comeback attempt. Willert calmly made all three free throws, nailed a jumper in the paint, blocked a jump shot by Moni and then drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing fastbreak to bring the Huskies within five. SCSU continued to battle as the lead was cut down to four points after a dunk by Taylor and a deep three by Willert, but Northern iced the game by making nine of their 11 free throws attempts in the final six minutes of the game to earn an 83-77 victory.
Taylor led the Huskies with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Off the bench, Willert scored a season-high 20 points, cashed three three-pointers and grabbed four rebounds.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Minnesota Crookston comes into this matchup with a record of 6-15 and a 3-12 conference record to place them 13th in the NSIC. Last past weekend, Minnesota Crookston lost to Minnesota Duluth, 62-72, on Friday and beat Concordia-St. Paul, 84-82, on Saturday. The Golden Eagles have dropped five of their last six games.
Junior guard Blaize Sagna currently leads the conference in scoring with 22.9 points per game on 46% from the field and 43% from three-point range. Sagna also averages 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists per game. The junior has been a flamethrower for the Golden Eagles, scoring 23+ points in four of his past six games including a season high 36 points against Winona State, a 30-point outing against Southwest Minnesota State and a 34-point performance against Concordia-St. Paul.
Junior guard Reid Grant is the only other Golden Eagles that scores in double-digits with an average of 14.1 points per game on 50% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. Grant is seventh in the NSIC in assists per game with 3.6 and averages 3.5 rebounds per game. The junior has scored 15+ points in three consecutive games including a 19-point outing against Minnesota Duluth.
Junior forward Aguek Deng nearly averages a double-double with 6.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Deng is the best shot blocker in the NSIC, averaging a conference-leading 1.9 blocks per game. In their last outing against Concordia-St. Paul, Deng scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, blocked four shots and nabbed two steals.
Against St. Cloud State, Sagna was held in check, only scoring 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Grant was the team's second leading scorer with 14 points and tallied eight assists and five rebounds. Deng nearly registered a double-double with 16 points and seven rebounds while swatting five shots and recording two steals.
Head coach Bryan Beamish is in his second season as the head coach after spending the previous eight seasons as an assistant and associate coach for the program. Beamish posted a 2-26 record in his inaugural season which was tied for the second lowest win total in program history. Beamish hopes to turn around a program that has only produced one winning season since the 1992-1993 season.
Minnesota Crookston Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
- 65.7 points per game (15th) | 73.6 points per game allowed (10th) | - 7.9 scoring margin (14th)
- 43.8 field goal percentage (11th) | 35.6 three-point percentage (6th) | 64.1 free throw percentage (15th)
- 43.9 opponent field goal percentage (8th) | 32.5 opponent three-point percentage (5th)
- 34.2 rebounds per game (13th) | 8.1 offensive rebounds per game (14th)
- 37.2 opponent rebounds per game (13th) | -3.0 rebounding margin (14th)
- 12.4 turnovers per game (1st) | -3.55 turnover margin (15th)
- 4.1 blocks per game (1st)
- 9.5 assists per game (15th)
- 4.1 steals per game (15th)
SCOUTING NORTHERN STATE
The Northern State Wolves come into the matchup posting a 7-13 record and a 5-9 conference record to place them 11th in the NSIC. The Wolves were swept last weekend, losing 82-76 to Sioux Falls on Friday and 80-46 against Southwest Minnesota State Saturday. Northern State has lost five of its last six games.
Junior Jacksen Moni is currently the fifth leading scorer in the conference with an average of 20.3 points on 43% shooting from the field and 34% from three-point range. Moni is also the third leading rebounder in the conference with an average of 8.2 per game. The junior is second on the team in assists with 3.4 per game. Despite only scoring six points against Southwest Minnesota State, Moni had scored 20+ points in five consecutive games including a 35-point bombardment against Sioux Falls.
Junior guard Josh Dilling is right behind Moni with 19.3 points per game, which is the sixth highest mark in the conference. Dilling possesses a flamethrower as he shoots 54% from the field and 47% from beyond the arc. The Oshkosh, Wis. native also averages a team-high 3.9 assists per game and 4.5 rebounds per game. The past three games have seen Dilling unable to reach his scoring average but recorded 27 points against Concordia-St. Paul.
In the matchup against the Huskies earlier in the season, Moni and Dilling were unstoppable, combining for 62 of Northern's 83 points. Moni scored a career-high 38 points with 16 rebounds while making seven of his nine three-point attempts. Moni also recorded four assists, three blocks and a steal. Dilling was just as hot as Moni, dropping 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field while making five of his six three-point attempts. Dilling also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
Saul Phillips is in his fifth season at the helm of the program and has posted a record of 96-40. Phillips and his teams have not won less than 19 games in his tenure at Northern State. The NSIC awarded Phillips Coach of the Year honors last year after the Wolves posted a 24-7 record and Phillips surpassed the 300-career win mark. Phillips first started his career at North Dakota State in 2007 and captured 134 wins in his seven years there. Ohio University sought after Phillips and hired him in 2014. Phillips put together an 81-77 record before coming to Northern State in 2019.
Northern State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
- 74.7 points per game (11th) | 77.1 points per game allowed (14th) | -2.4 scoring margin (13th)
- 43.6 field goal percentage (13th) | 33.2 three-point percentage (13th) | 73.9 free throw percentage (8th)
- 47.1 opponent field goal percentage (14th) | 35.5 opponent three-point percentage (12th)
- 34.3 rebounds per game (12th) | 9.5 offensive rebounds per game (11th)
- 37.4 opponent rebounds per game (14th) | -3.1 rebounding margin (15th)
- 10 turnovers per game (12th) | -0.4 turnover margin (10th)
- 3.05 blocks per game (6th)
- 12.35 assists per game (10th)
- 4.6 steals per game (13th)
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 tied for No. 35 with 1,091 points. Willert has played in 94 games (2,502 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.6 points per game for his career on 362-of-862 (42.0%) shooting from the field, 174-512 (34.0%) 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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/ Men's Basketball94 Feet | SCSU Men's Basketball | Lee Marks III
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