St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Gears Up for Critical Conference Matchups

Thursday, February 8

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

UMary

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Kaitlyn Zuehl

St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Gears Up for Critical Conference Matchups

2/7/2024 5:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Huskies host UMary Thursday, travel to Minot State Sunday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (9-13, 5-11 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) hosts UMary (6-16, 1-15 NSIC) on Thursday and travels to No. 15 Minot State (18-4, 13-3 NSIC) Sunday. Tipoff for Thursday's game is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall and Sunday's game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at the Minot State Dome in Minot, N.D.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Tickets to Thursday's game are available at scsutickets.com and the program is available here. The games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network (Thursday's Stream / Sunday'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 Sunday. Live stats will be provided by each home institution (SCSU/MISU). Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State played two games last week, traveling to Minnesota Crookston Thursday and hosting Northern State on Saturday. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles held an early 6-5 before St. Cloud State started to take command of the game as freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) capped off a 9-0 Huskies run by converting an and-one layup on a fastbreak. The Huskies then pushed its lead to 16 points as senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) cashed back-to-back three-pointers and freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee) finished a left-handed layup to force a UMC timeout at the 10:05 mark with SCSU holding a 27-11 lead. The Huskies led by 14+ points for the remainder of the half and took a 42-24 lead into the break.

St. Cloud State put together a complete half of basketball, shooting 58% from the field and 66% from three-point range. On the defensive end, the Huskies forced Minnesota Crookston to shoot a mere 30% from the field and 16% from beyond the arc.

Crookston came out of the second half on fire, scoring on its first four possessions, cutting the Huskies lead to 11. Graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) and freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) stopped the bleeding with back-to-back layups, pushing the lead back up to 15 points. The Golden Eagles did not go away, using a 9-0 run to bring themselves back within two possessions, trailing 50-44 at the 11:18 mark of the second half. With the game tightening up and momentum in favor of the Golden Eagles, Willert took over the game for St. Cloud State, scoring 15 of the next 16 points for the Huskies, including three three-pointers giving SCSU a 67-50 lead with just over five minutes left in the game. Despite a push by UMC in the final minutes, St. Cloud State went on to earn a 77-68 victory, snapping its three-game losing streak.

Willert was otherworldly, scoring a season-high of 31 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Willert nearly tied the school record of nine three-point makes in a single game by cashing eight of his 14 three-point attempts. The senior also finished the game with four rebounds, two blocks, and went 5-of-6 at the free throw line. In his first career start, freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) recorded his second career double-double, posting 10 points and 10 rebounds. Hawks tied his career-high of five field goals as he went 5-8 from the field. Morgan nearly recorded his third career double-double, finishing the game with seven points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a career-high three blocks.

The Huskies held a modest 11-8 lead early in the first half of Saturday's game against Northern State. St. Cloud State started to shake the Wolves after Taylor and Allen scored 10 of the next 12 points for SCSU, as a 12-2 run put them in front 23-13. St. Cloud State held onto that double-digit lead for the next five minutes, but a 13-5 run brought the Wolves within four points. St. Cloud State went into halftime leading 33-26.

The Huskies defense held Northern State to 32% from the field and a lowly 15% from three-point range. Offensively, SCSU shot 45% from the field, but only connected on five of their 17 three-point attempts.

St. Cloud State pushed its lead back to double digits at the start of the second half with an 8-0 run after Hawks slammed consecutive ferocious dunks to give the Huskies a 41-27 lead. Northern State stayed within striking distance as Augustin Reede drained consecutive three-pointers to cut the SCSU lead down to nine points. Reede hit another pair of threes as a 10-2 run by NSU tied the game at 54 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. Neither team took command of the game over the next five minutes, but Jacksen Moni of Northern State put the Huskies away, scoring 17 of the last 21 points for the Wolves helping them come out with an 83-76 victory. In the final minute of the game, Northern State made all 10 of their free throw attempts to solidify the win.

Moni finished with a game-high of 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with seven rebounds and four assists. Reede poured in 22 points and made six of his 11 three-point attempts. Northern State's offense clicked in the second half as they shot a scorching 63% from the field and 54% from beyond the arc.

Allen led the Huskies with 20 points on an efficient 9-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Allen also made two three-pointers, grabbed two rebounds, and dished out two assists. The freshman has now scored 9+ points in 14 consecutive games for the Huskies. In his second career start, Wyatt Hawks nearly recorded his third career double-double, posting 11 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Hawks also shot 5-of-7 from the field and has scored double-digit points in three consecutive games. Senior Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) scored in double-figures for the third game this season, registering 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and while making both of his three-point attempts. Mutimer also recorded three-assists and has dished out 3+ assists in six of his past eight games.

Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)

75 points per game (10^th) | 75.6 points per game allowed (12^th) | -0.5 scoring margin (11^th)
43.4 field goal percentage (13^th) | 34.4 three-point percentage (10^th) | 71.8 free throw percentage (9^th)
46.1 opponent field goal percentage (12^th) | 37.2 opponent three-point percentage (15^th)
37.2 rebounds per game (6^th) | 10.6 offensive rebounds per game (6^th)
36 opponent rebounds per game (11^th) | 1.2 rebounding margin (10^th)
11 turnovers per game (6^th) | 0.09 turnover margin (7^th)
2.09 blocks per game (11^th)
5.45 steals per game (11^th)
13.5 assists per game (7^th)

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's matchup against UMary will be the 33^rd meeting between the programs. The Huskies lead the series 19-13 and. have won two consecutive matchups against the Marauders including their first meeting this season. After the first five minutes of the game earlier this season, there was a deadlock at 10. UMary used a 13-4 run over the next three minutes to build up a nine-point lead. St. Cloud State started to find its footing offensively with 9:47 left in the half, embarking on a 13-6 run to tie the game at 29. Luke Taylor started the run by grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring a putback layup. Matt Willert capped off the ensuing defensive possession by grabbing a rebound and then used a screen by Taylor to bury a deep three. Knotted up at 29 with 5:35 left in the half, the Huskies finished the half on a 12-4 run to take a 41-33 lead going into halftime. Freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) finished off the half by splashing home a corner three pointer with six seconds left.

The Marauders did not go away quietly, coming out of the halftime break on an 8-2 run to bring UMary back within two points at the 13:31 mark. The Huskies responded and pushed the lead back up to 10 points by way of a 12-4 run. Willert finished off the run by stepping back for a three-pointer that caused his defender to fall and draining the shot. A big 14-4 run by UMary tightened the game back up, bringing the score to a 59-all tie with just under four minutes remaining. Lucas Morgan briefly broke the tie after he drove into the lane and knocked down a right-handed floater. Following a defensive rebound, Zyon Smith of UMary made a fastbreak layup to retie the game with 2:53 remaining. The Huskies needed points in the clutch, and they went to the hot hand of Willert to take them home. Willert drove into the paint, spun off his defender, and wrapped a left-handed layup around his defender to give the Huskies a two-point lead. The bucket also put Willert over 1,000 points for his collegiate career. St. Cloud State forced a turnover on consecutive defensive possessions and had the ball with 1:14 left. On the ensuing offensive possession, Ramlall broke down his defender, drove into the paint and threw a bullet pass to Willert in the corner who cashed the dagger three-pointer to give the Huskies a five-point lead. The Huskies put the game away by making their free throws late, leaving Bismark with a 68-61 victory.

Matt Willert led the Huskies with 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and drained three three-pointers in 23 minutes off the bench. Lucas Morgan recorded his second career double-double as he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Luke Taylor scored in double figures as he tallied 12 points, four rebounds, and one block and steal.

Sunday's game against Minot State will be the 24^th meeting between the teams. The Huskies hold a 17-6 advantage. This will be the second time this season that the teams play each other after the Beavers took the first meeting. The Huskies got off to a strong start in that game, taking a 10-3 lead early in the first half. Luke Taylor had a strong start individually, scoring nine of his 13 points in the opening half including six consecutive points for St. Cloud State to give them a four-point lead with the score at 16-12. An 18-5 run by Minot State gave them a seven-point lead with 5:05 left in the first half, but back-to-back three-pointers by Ramlall and Willert quickly cut its lead back down to one. The rest of the half went back and forth, and the Huskies went into halftime trailing by one point after Allen made a buzzer beating right-handed layup. Coming out of the break, St. Cloud State used a 7-3 run to capture a three-point lead with five of those points coming from Lucas Morgan. The game continued to go back and forth until the 5:05 mark when the Beavers embarked on a 16-2 to put away the Huskies. Jamiir Allen cashed in a jumper with 3:01 to bring the Huskies within four points, but St. Cloud could not get over the dam, going scoreless the remainder of the game. Minot State came away with an 85-70 victory to give St. Cloud State their first conference loss on the season.

Ramlall led the team in scoring with 15 points while nabbing two steals. The freshman shot 4-of-8 from the field and made three of his six three-point attempts. Morgan was right behind Ramlall in scoring as he tallied 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting while recording one steal and block.

SCOUTING UMARY
The Marauders come into this matchup with the Huskies having lost 10 consecutive games and sit at the bottom of the NSIC with a record of 6-15 and a 1-15 conference record. During the 10-game losing streak, the Marauders have lost by an average of 21 points.

Junior guard Gerald Gittens leads the Marauders with an average of 15.3 points per game on 45% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range. Gittens also averages 4.6 rebounds and leads the team with 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Despite the struggles of UMary, Gittens has scored 15+ points in six consecutive games including three 22+ point performances. Against Northern State this past week, Gittens scored a season-high 26 points.

Sophomore forward Brock Heffner is the team's second leading scorer as he averages 13.4 points on 48% from the field. Heffner is second on the team in rebounding with 4.9 per game and averages one assist. Heffner has scored 13+ points in two consecutive games, but last played against Minnesota St. on January 20th. His status for the game is unknown.

Senior guard Zyon Smith is the last player to score in double figures for the Marauders as he averages 11.2 points per game on 35% shooting from the field and 31% from three-point range. Smith is the third leading rebounder on the team with 4.7 per game and is second in assists with 1.4 per game.

Against St. Cloud State, Smith was the leading scorer with 15 points on 7-of-19 shooting while also grabbing nine rebounds. Heffner scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded two steals. Gittens was held to 11 points in the game.

Jack Nelson is in his third season at the helm for UMary. During his tenure with the Marauders, Nelson has posted a record of 28-48 and has not exceeded 11 wins in a season. Nelson was associate head coach of the University of Sioux Falls for the prior three seasons before being hired in 2021 by UMary. Nelson earned his first head coaching job at Central Wyoming College where he earned 20 and 21 wins in his two seasons with the Rustlers.

UMary Team Stats (NSIC Rank)

66.4 points per game (14^th) | 77.2 points per game allowed (14th) | -10.8 scoring margin (15^th)
40.6 field goal percentage (15^th) | 29.8 three-point percentage (15th) | 64.3 free throw percentage (15^th)
47.9 opponent field goal percentage (15^th) | 36.3 opponent three-point percentage (14^th)
35.3 rebounds per game (10^th) | 10.1 offensive rebounds per game (7^th)
36.6 opponent rebounds per game (12^th) | -1.3 rebounding margin (12^th)
11.7 turnovers per game (2^nd) | -1 turnover margin (11^th)
2.95 blocks per game (7^th)
5.95 steals per game (7^th)
10.7 assists per game (14^th)

SCOUTING MINOT STATE
Minot State comes into this match in third place in the NSIC standings with a record of 18-4 and a 13-3 conference record. The Beavers have won three straight games and 10 of their last 11 with their lone loss coming against ranked MSU Moorhead. Last weekend, MISU beat Bemidji State, 62-58 and UMary, 87-53.

Senior guard Khair Broadway leads the Beavers with an average of 14.4 points per game on 46% from the field and 43% from three-point range. Broadway also averages 3.7 rebounds, a team-high three assists, and 1.3 steals per game. The senior has struggled as of late as he has reached his scoring average once in the past games but has dished 4+ assists in four of those games and has recorded a steal in all of them.

Junior guard Jaxon Gunville is the second leading scorer for Minot State with an average of 10.6 points on 39.9% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. Gunville also averages two rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.1 minutes per game. Gunville has scored 15+ points in two of his past four games including a 16-point performance against Wayne State.

Junior forward Connor Hollenbeck is the last Beaver that scores in double-digits with an average of 10.4 points on 45% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc. Hollenbeck is the 9th leading rebounder in the NSIC with 7.1 per game. He is also second on the team in assists with 2.2 per game. Hollenbeck has been held under double-digit points for four consecutive games but has grabbed 8+ rebounds in three of those games.

In their last meeting against St. Cloud State, Hollenbeck nearly recorded a double-double as he scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked three shots. Broadway was the games second leading scorer with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Gunville was limited to nine points but made three of his six three-point attempts.
Mark Murken is in his 12^th season as the head coach for Minot State. Murken has an all-time record of 158-183 in his tenure with the program and sits 4th all-time in wins in program history.

Minot State will travel to MSU Moorhead on Thursday before hosting the Huskies on Sunday.

Minot State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)

78.8 points per game (6^th) | 66.2 points per game allowed (1^st) | 12.7 scoring margin (2^nd)
48.3 field goal percentage (3^rd) | 39.1 three-point percentage (1^st) | 75.3 free throw percentage (6^th)
41.3 opponent field goal percentage (1^st) | 32.9 opponent three-point percentage (7^th)
37.8 rebounds per game (3^rd) | 10 offensive rebounds per game (8^th)
31.8 opponent rebounds per game (1^st) | 6.0 rebounding margin (1^st)
10.3 turnovers per game (8^th) | 1.14 turnover margin (6^th)
2.23 blocks per game (10^th)
6.41 steals per game (4^th)
12.86 assists per game (8^th)

1,000-POINTS (& COUNTING)
St. Cloud State senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) became the 46^th 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. 34 with 1,128 points. Willert has played in 96 games (2,554 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.8 points per game for his career on 373-of-890 (42.0%) shooting from the field, 184-535 (34.4%) from three and 198-230 (86.1%) 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.