St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Continue Playoff Push with Two-Game Road Trip

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (16-10, 12-6 NSIC) continue their conference playoff push as they travel to Wayne State on Friday, February 14 and then to Augustana on Saturday, February 15. Friday's game is set for 5:30 p.m. while Saturday's game will be played at 3:30 p.m.

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Both games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network. Live Stats will be provided by Wayne State on Friday and then by Augustana on Saturday. Both games will also be broadcasted on the Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast for both games.

Last Time Out
St. Cloud State had an away and home game this past week as they traveled to UMary on Wednesday and then hosted No. 22 Minot State on Saturday.

Through the first 10 minutes of play against UMary, the teams would be tied at 16 points apiece with neither team able to grow a lead. A 5-1 run by the Marauders gave them a 21-17 lead with 8:29 left in the first half. From that point, the Huskies ramped up their intensity on both sides of the ball as an and-one by Lee Marks III capped off an 11-0 run for SCSU over the next three minutes. Now holding a seven-point lead, the Huskies remained in control as their defense allowed only one made field goal by the Marauders over the final 8:29 of the half as it came with 21 seconds left in the half. St. Cloud State would ultimately go into halftime leading 36-31. The start of the second half saw the SCSU maintain their first half lead but were unable to shake the Marauders. A three-pointer by Marks III extended the lead to 10 points. Back-to-back threes by Kynan Philippe would give St. Cloud State a 55-41 lead at the 12:28 mark of the second half. SCSU kept pouring it on UMary as Lucas Morgan capped off a personal 6-0 run with a three-pointer which put the Huskies up 68-44. St. Cloud State ultimately led by 24+ points the remainder of the game as they went on to comfortably win 84-54. It was a three-point barrage in the second half for the Huskies as they made nine of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc. Kynan Philippe scored 14 points on 5/8 shooting and made four of his seven three-point attempts. He also totaled two rebounds and two steals. His four three-point makes tied his career-high. This was Philippe's ninth game this season with 3+ threes. Lee Marks III scored a career-high 13 points on an efficient 4/7 shooting while making four of his five free throw attempts. He also grabbed four rebounds. This was Marks III third game scoring 11+ points this season.

In what was a physical start and ultimately a game of runs against Minot State, St. Cloud State held a narrow 9-8 lead at the 15:08 mark of the first half. The Huskies would start to take control of the game as and-one layup by Anish Ramlall capped off a 14-4 run to put SCSU up 23-12. St. Cloud State kept a steady lead but slowly started to extend the lead as the half neared its end. A three by Nathan Bunkosky put SCSU up 35-18 with 5:35 left in the half as the Huskies held all the momentum. The Beavers did not end the half quietly as a quick 8-0 forced a timeout by St. Cloud State as the momentum had now swung in favor of Minot State. The Beavers kept pouring it on as the half came to a close as a dunk by Caleb Van De Griend set the score at 37-34. That score solidified going into halftime as the Beavers ended the half on a 16-2 run to now only trail by three points at the break. Out of halftime, Minot State opened on a quick 8-0 run to now lead 42-37. The teams battled back and forth for the next few minutes before a three-pointer by Jaxson Gunville gave the Beavers a 54-45 lead after an 8-0 run. Minot State held a steady lead over the next six minutes as their largest lead came to be nine points. Trailing 70-62 with 8:29 remaining in the game, St. Cloud State made a quick burst with a 6-0 to force a Beavers timeout. Out of the break, Minot State weathered the storm with a three-pointer, but after trading scoreless possessions, Kynan Philippe started the storm back up with a slot three. Free throws by Luke Winkel at the 5:11 mark tied the game at 73. Following a free throw by Minot, they would lead 76-75 with 3:56 left in the game. The marksman Philippe against cashed a big three for the Huskies as they would 78-76 with 3:08 remaining. Following a forced turnover, Nate Dahl drove to the right side of the basket, took contact, and finished the massive and-one. Dahl would miss the free throw, but grab his own rebound twice after missing a putback. Dahl worked the ball out to set up the offense where Luke Winkel finished a floater as SCSU now led 82-76 with 2:07 remaining. Forcing a turnover, Winkel would get fouled and make two free throws. The Huskies strung another defensive stop as Dahl delivered a dagger three from the top of the key as St. Cloud State now held an 11-point lead. Lucas Morgan ultimately capped off the victory for the Huskies with a breakaway dunk as St. Cloud State upset No. 22 Minot State 91-81. This game was truly a game of runs as the Huskies opened on a 35-18 run in which the Beavers responded with a 52-27 run. SCSU closed the game on a 29-11 run including a 16-6 mark over the final 4:32 of the game. Luke Winkel led the Huskies in scoring with 24 points on an efficient 8/11 shooting including a perfect 4/4 from three-point range, which was a career-high in three-point makes. He also tallied five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. This was Winkel's fourth 20+ point game this season and his 11th multi-steal game. Nate Dahl nearly notched a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds. Dahl shot 5/9 from the field while making two of his three three-point attempts. He also collected two assists and steals. This was Dahl's seventh game scoring 16+ points.

St. Cloud State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Luke Winkel (333-13.3)
Rebounds- Wyatt Hawks (194-7.5)
Offensive rebounds- Wyatt Hawks (59-2.3)
Assists- Luke Winkel (94-3.8)
Steals- Nate Dahl (38-1.5)
Blocks- Wyatt Hawks (29-1.1)
Stocks- Wyatt Hawks (50-1.9)
Field goals made- Wyatt Hawks (117-4.5)
Three-point field goals made- Kynan Philippe (46-1.8)
Free throw makes- Nate Dahl (108-4.2)
Minutes- Nate Dahl (755-29.0)

St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

77.6 points per game (5^th) | 73.8 points per game allowed (9^th) | 3.7 scoring margin (9^th)
46.1 field goal percentage (7^th) | 36.0 three-point percentage (5^th) | 71.9 free throw percentage (6^th)
46.0 opponent field goal percentage (12^th) | 34.1 opponent three-point percentage (6^th)
35.0 rebounds per game (8^th) | 9.9 offensive rebounds per game (5^th)
33.0 opponent rebounds per game (5^th) | 2.0 rebounding margin (7^th)
12.2 turnovers per game (12^th) | 13.1 turnovers forced per game (2^nd) | 0.88 turnover margin (6^th)
2.69 blocks per game (11^th)
8.19 steals per game (2^nd)
12.15 assists per game (11^th)
7.5 three-point field goals made per game (9^th)

Playoff Push
With two weeks left in the regular season, the Huskies will be looking to make a playoff push to solidify their place in the standings. The top four seeds in the standings receive a bye to the Stanford Pentagon, teams seeded 5-8 will host a first round playoff game, and teams seed 9-12 will travel to the corresponding host. St. Cloud State is currently sixth in the NSIC Standings. With a win against Wayne State on Friday, the Huskies would clinch a home playoff game in Round 1 with potential to still receive a bye to the Pentagon.

The full NSIC Standings are as follows:

Concordia-St. Paul: 18-6, 13-5 NSIC
Southwest Minnesota State: 18-6, 13-5
Minnesota State: 16-9, 12-5
Minot State: 21-6, 12-6
Winona State: 17-7, 12-6
St. Cloud State: 16-10, 12-6
Minnesota Duluth: 16-7, 11-6
MSU Moorhead: 16-8, 11-7
Wayne State: 14-10, 8-10
Sioux Falls: 12-12, 8-10
Augustana: 10-14, 7-11
Bemidji State: 10-14, 7-11
Minnesota Crookston: 5-19, 4-14
UMary: 5-22, 3-15
Northern State: 2-22, 1-17

All stats and standings accumulated February 10

Series History
Friday's game against Wayne State will be the 33rd all-time meeting between the programs with the Huskies holding a 26-6 advantage. The teams matched up earlier this season in January where SCSU came up with an overtime victory.

The Huskies got off to a slow offensive start as they trailed 15-6 through the first 10 minutes of the game. Wayne State expanded that lead to double-digits with 6:42 left in the half as they led 21-11. SCSU started to find some offensive groove as they scored 10 points to end the half, but still found themselves trailing 28-21 at halftime. The Huskies shot 35% from the field while going 1/7 from beyond the arc in the first half. Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Wayne State would lead by 7+ points before Kynan Philippe started to spark a comeback. Philippe cashed a three at the 10:50 mark of the second half and then finished a transition layup after Lucas Morgan nabbed a steal and then found an open Philippe on the fast break. With their lead now only four-points, Wayne State called a timeout to halt the momentum. The Huskies produced the first bucket out of the timeout as Wyatt Hawks cashed a mid-range jumper to put SCSU within two-points. WSC responded with a three, but St. Cloud State responded to their response with back-to-back three-pointers by Nate Dahl and Luke Winkel to take their first lead of the game at the 7:07 mark of the second half. The teams battled late into the game as a layup by Hawks gave St. Cloud State a 52-47 lead with 2:07 remaining. The Wildcats finished their own layup on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit down to three points. WSC ramped up their defensive pressure late as they forced Winkel into a turnover in the backcourt. What looked like an open layup was erased by Morgan who came up with a clutch block with 39 seconds left. Nate Dahl picked up the rebound and would be fouled. Dahl, shooting one and one, missed the free throw as Wayne State nailed a jumper to now only trail by one point with the score set at 52-51. With the Huskies having the ball, the Wildcats again fouled, this time it was Morgan who was shooting one and one. Morgan missed the free throw with 18 seconds left as WSC raced down and finished a layup to take a 53-52 lead with 12 seconds remaining. With a chance to now win the game, Dahl drove into the lane and would have his layup attempt blocked. Philippe came away with a huge offensive rebound and went to put it back up but was fouled with three seconds left. Philippe missed his first attempt but tied the game at 53 by making the second shot. The Wildcats missed a buzzer beating three-pointer as the game would head into overtime. WSC drew first blood in extra time as they cashed a three-pointer. On the ensuing offensive possession, Hawks found Morgan down in the paint who had freed himself with a cut and finished a layup while getting fouled. Morgan did not convert the three-point play, but grabbed a defensive rebound after the Huskies forced a miss. Morgan then swung the ball to Philippe on the offensive possession as he splashed a three to give St. Cloud State a 58-56 lead with 3:44 left in overtime. The Wildcats would knock in their own three to retake the lead, but it was Philippe again who knocked down a big three to take the lead right back. With a 61-59 lead with 2:23 remaining, the Huskies picked up their defense by holding WSC to one field goal in the final minutes of overtime. The Huskies would ultimately put the game away at the free throw line in that time frame as they knocked in 10 of their final 12 free throw attempts. St. Cloud State would go on to win 71-63 in overtime for their ninth win of the season. Nate Dahl paced the Huskies in scoring and nearly tallied a double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds. Dahl also nabbed three steals while making three of his five three-point attempts. He has scored 18+ points in three straight games while making 2+ threes in all three games. Kynan Philippe tied his career-high in scoring as he tallied 15 points while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. Philippe also cashed three threes and tallied a block and steal. This was the fifth game this season where Philippe has made 3+ three-pointers.

Saturday's game against Augustana will be the 95th meeting between the two programs. St. Cloud State holds a 48-46 advantage over the Vikings but lost the first matchup this season.

The first five minutes of the game were tightly contested, but Augustana slowly built up a seven-point lead. The Huskies started to gain momentum as Nate Dahl cashed a three as the shot clock expired while getting fouled at the 14:36 mark of the first half. Dahl converted the free throw as the Huskies worked their way to a two-point deficit after a layup by Vance Peiffer. The teams continued to battle as a three by Nathan Bunkosky cut the deficit to one-point, but the Vikings brought the lead back up to six points after an 8-2 run. Augustana continued to extend their lead as they led 34-24 with 5:57 left in the half. The Huskies were able to chip away in the final minutes of the half, but Augustana ultimately led 48-37 going into halftime. The Huskies were aggressive all half attacking the rim as they got to the line 22 times and converted 18 of those attempts. St. Cloud State defensively came out of the break energetic as they held the Vikings scoreless for the three minutes of the half. During that stretch, SCSU brought the game back within five points as they continued their aggressive offensive play. From that initial stretch of the half, the teams stalemated for almost the entire half. Augustana could never blow the game open as the Huskies had an answer for every run by the Vikings. With Augustana leading by five points with 3:24 remaining, Luke Winkel finished inside to cut the deficit to three. SCSU strung together two stops as on their offensive possession following the second stop, Dahl drove inside, took contact, and finished a layup while getting fouled. Dahl tied the game at 68 by converting the and-one opportunity with 2:01 left in the game. The defense continued to be stout for the Huskies as they forced two more misses. Lee Marks III came away with a big defensive rebound and was fouled in the process, sending him to the line. Marks made his first attempt to give St. Cloud State the lead with 41 second remaining but missed his second attempt. With now 21 seconds left, Augustana got the lead back after a layup by Akoi Akoi. SCSU called a timeout, now having an opportunity to win the game. Out of the timeout, Winkel had a baseline drive where he dumped it down to Wyatt Hawks with five seconds left who had his layup attempt blocked by Akoi. The Huskies fouled Augustana with two seconds left where Malyk Rebetez missed his first attempt, but made the second to give the Vikings a 71-69 lead. SCSU again called a timeout, but would need to travel the full length of the court to potentially tie or win the game. On the opposite baseline, Winkel inbounded to Dahl who had gathered a head of steam. Dahl took a few dribbles to get past halfcourt before he fired a shot just outside the halfcourt line. His shot to win the game narrowly missed as he hit the back rim as time expired. St. Cloud State would ultimately lose 69-71, snapping their three-game winning streak. Nate Dahl recorded his first career double-double as he tallied 22 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Dahl was aggressive all night and got to the line 10 times, making all 10 of his attempts. This was the second straight game for Dahl where he has scored 20+ points and fourth game this season. Luke Winkel tallied his third straight game scoring in double-figures as he notched 15 points and dished four assists. Like Dahl, Winkel was aggressive and got to the line 10 times, making nine of those attempts. This was Winkel's sixth game this season dishing 4+ assists.

Scouting Wayne State
The Wayne State Wildcats come into this matchup holding an 14-10 record with an 8-10 mark in conference play. WSC has lost three of their past four games after being defeated by Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State, and Sioux Falls. The Wildcats did beat Augustana during that stretch. Coming into this season, Wayne State was projected to finish 12th in the conference after a 2023-24 season where they finished with a 16-14 record and a 9-13 mark in conference play. The Wildcats reached the NSIC Tournament where they were defeated in the first round at the hands of Augustana. The offseason saw the Wildcats lose their All-Conference performer in Trey Deveaux along with Alec Millender and David Harmon who all scored in double figures.

This season, three Wildcats score in double figures in Matt Noll, JJ Ferrin, and Cody McCullough. Noll leads the trio with 13 per game while shooting 54.1% from the field and 36.4% from three. Ferrin and McCullough hover around 12 points with 12.2 and 11.9 respectively. Ferrin is shooting 40.7% from the field and 35.6% from three to go along with 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists. McCullough is shooting 53% from the field while leading the team in rebounds with 7.0 boards per game.

Head Coach Jeff Kaminsky enters his ninth season with Wayne State in 2024-25. In his tenure with the Wildcats, Kaminsky has tallied a record of 114-112 with an 81-84 mark in conference play.

Wayne State will play Southwest Minnesota State on Tuesday before facing the Huskies on Friday.

Wayne State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Matt Noll (313-13.0)
Rebounds- Cody McCullough (148-7.0)
Offensive rebounds- Cody McCullough (49-2.3)
Assists- Jay Saunders (74-3.1)
Steals- Sean Stokes/Jay Saunders (40-1.7)
Blocks- Cody McCullough (29-1.4)
Stocks- Jay Saunders (56-2.4)
Field goals made- Matt Noll (124-5.2)
Three-point field goals made- JJ Ferrin (57-2.4)
Free throw makes- Cody McCullough (73-3.5)
Minutes- Jay Saunders (697-29.0)

Wayne State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

71.3 points per game (11^th) | 66.9 points per game allowed (3^rd) | 4.4 scoring margin (8^th)
45.1 field goal percentage (10^th) | 33.3 three-point percentage (13^th) | 71.6 free throw percentage (7^th)
43.8 opponent field goal percentage (7^th) | 34.7 opponent three-point percentage (8^th)
32.0 rebounds per game (13^th) | 8.4 offensive rebounds per game (11^th)
34.4 opponent rebounds per game (9^th) | -2.4 rebounding margin (11^th)
10.3 turnovers per game (3^rd) | 14.0 turnovers forced per game (1^st) 3.75 turnover margin (1^st)
3.79 blocks per game (1^st)
9.50 steals per game (1^st)
12.67 assists per game (8^th)
7.2 three-point field goals made per game (11^th)

Scouting Augustana
The Augustana Vikings come into this game holding a 10-14 record with a 7-11 mark in conference play. The Vikings have lost six of their past seven games with the lone win coming against Southwest Minnesota State. Augustana was projected to finish sixth in the conference after going 19-11 with a 13-9 record in conference play last season. The Vikings qualified for the NSIC Tournament where they advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Wayne State in the first round. They then faced off against Minnesota Duluth where their season would end after losing 88-74. The offseason saw the Vikings lose their two All-Conference guards from last season in Isaac Fink and Jadan Graves who averaged 20.6 and 15.0 points per game respectively.

This season, three Vikings score in double-digits in Tanner Te Slaa, Akoi Akoi, and Sam Rensch. Te Slaa leads the trio with 14.5 points on 43.1% from the field and 39.6% from beyond the arc. He also leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 per game to go along with 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals. Akoi is scoring 13.3 points while shooting 44.5% from the field. He is grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game and dishing 2.4 assists per game. Rensch is the final Viking in double-digits with an 11.5 points per game average. He is shooting 36.6% from the field and 33.6% from three-point range to partner with 4.5 boards, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 steals

Leading the Vikings will be first year Head Coach Cody Schilling who replaced long time Head Coach Tom Billeter. Billeter was Augustana's winningest coach in program history. Schilling received a promotion after previously spending three seasons as an assistant coach for the Vikings.

Augustana Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Tanner Te Slaa (348-14.5)
Rebounds- Tanner Te Slaa (137-5.7)
Offensive rebounds- Bennett Fried (50-2.3)
Assists- Tameron Ferguson (77-3.2)
Steals- Tameron Ferguson (39-1.6)
Blocks- Bennett Fried (20-0.9)
Stocks- Tameron Ferguson (43-1.8)
Field goals made- Akoi Akoi (125-5.2)
Three-point field goals made- Tanner Te Slaa (59-2.5)
Free throw makes- Tanner Te Slaa (63-2.6)
Minutes- Tanner Te Slaa (843-35.1)

Augustana Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

71.3 points per game (12^th) | 71.6 points per game allowed (6^th) | -0.3 scoring margin (11^th)
43.6 field goal percentage (12^th) | 35.3 three-point percentage (8^th) | 70.5 free throw percentage (10^th)
43.9 opponent field goal percentage (8^th) | 35.3 opponent three-point percentage (8^th)
33.0 rebounds per game (12^th) | 8.5 offensive rebounds per game (10^th)
35.9 opponent rebounds per game (10^th) | -3.0 rebounding margin (12^th)
10.1 turnovers per game (2^nd) | 12.7 turnovers forced per game (4^th) 2.58 turnover margin (3^rd)
2.58 blocks per game (12^th)
7.17 steals per game (5^th)
12.88 assists per game (7^th)
7.6 three-point field goals made per game (8^th)

Augustana will play Sioux Falls and Bemidji State on Tuesday and then Friday before playing the Huskies on Saturday.

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.