The St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball team continued to struggle to find their identity without Gage Davis, going 1-1 in the 2017 Husky Hoopster Classic.

The Huskies opened their 2017-18 home season with a 67-51 victory over Mayville State on Friday. Junior Forward Sean Smith posted career highs in points and rebounds, going 19/15 for his first career double-double. Senior Jon Averkamp continued his early season success, finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds. The SCSU defense was active all night, forcing 24 Comet turnovers on 13 steals, resulting in 18 Huskies points off turnovers. Eric Staebler led Mayville State with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

In the 2017 edition of the Huskies/Johnnies rivalry, #20 Saint John’s (DIII) came home as the victor in a 73-67 thriller. The Johnnies shot a blazing hot 64% from the floor in the second half, with Tyler Weiss (18 points/9 rebounds), Patrick Strom (16 points/4-5 3PFG), and Jubie Alade (12 points/5-9 shooting) each scoring 10 points in the closing period. SCSU failed to find any consistent form of offense in the game, shooting just under 40% from the floor. Averkamp and Brindley Theisen led the Huskies with 12 points each.

SCSU will continue to be without Davis for at least two more weeks, and their offense (42% shooting, 26% from three) needs to find a spark in their next three games against NSIC foes MSU-Mankato, Crookston, and Bemidji State.

The Huskies, now 2-2 on the season, travel to Mankato this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in a nonconference affair. The game will be heard on KVSC 88.1 FM, with Husky Den Pregame beginning at 3:30 p.m.