Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Minot State shot a blistering 59 percent from the field and connected on seven 3-pointers to earn an 82-65 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in non-conference men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at the R/A Facility.
 
The two teams played each other four times in the opening two weekends of the season with each squad winning twice.
 
MSU, which entered the game shooting 25 percent from 3-point range, closed today's game making 7 of 14 from long-range. Melvin Newbern scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Beavers in the victory, while teammate Max Cody poured in a game-high 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting.
 
Kaden Evans and Nick Dufault each scored 15 points for the Mustangs with Cliff McCray and Sam Schwartz both adding 11 points. The Mustangs shot 43 percent (26 of 60) from the field and made 10 of 28 from 3-point range. In SMSU's 83-64 victory on Friday night, the Mustangs made 15 of 25 3-point field goals. Dufault has now made 163 career 3-pointers and moves into ninth on the program's all-time list.
 
SMSU scored the game's opening two points, but it was all MSU after that, as the Beavers stormed to a 17-4 advantage just four and a half minutes into the game.
 
SMSU struggled with turnovers in the opening eight minutes, turning the ball over eight times as MSU held a 22-9 lead with 12 minutes left in the half.
 
The Mustangs would slowly chip into the Beavers lead, scoring seven straight points to pull within 26-22. Jake Phipps started the rally with a pair of free throws and was followed by a 3-pointer from Schwartz and a jumper from Evans at the 7:17 mark to cut the deficit to four points.
 
MSU answered right back in a big way, using 14-3 run during the next seven minutes, to extend the lead to 15 points, before Evans closed the half with a 3-pointer to cut MSU's lead to 40-28 at halftime.
 
MSU was red-hot shooting in the first half at 59 percent with four 3-pointers and committed just three turnovers. SMSU shot 39 percent in the opening half and committed 10 turnovers, which led to an 11-3 scoring advantage for MSU in points off of turnovers.
 
MSU pushed the lead to 47-31 early in the second half, but SMSU would keep fighting and cut the lead to 47-38 following a Dufault jumper with 15:42 left in the game.
 
The Beavers would maintain a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but the Mustangs would make one last comeback attempt, as Evans connected on a 3-pointer and a basket by Phipps with 6:56 remaining made the score 63-55. MSU fought off the SMSU charge and came back with six straight points over a two-minute span to seal the victory.
 
SMSU finished the game committing 16 turnovers and held a 30-28 rebound edge. Phipps led the Mustangs with a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Southwest Minnesota State returns to action next Friday, Jan. 15, opening up NSIC South Division play at Upper Iowa with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa.