Nov 19, 2018
SCSU Mens Hoops Come Up Short Against MSU
The St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball team fell Saturday afternoon to NSIC rival Minnesota State Mankato.
The first half was dominated by the Huskies, jumping out to a 36-30 lead at the halftime break. That came from some consistent shooting from the Huskies, leading the Mavericks in both three-point shooting percentage and from the field. Senior Gage Davis and Senior Sean Smith dominated the half, as Davis posted a strong 18 points while Smith dominated the glass for the Huskies with five blocks.
In the second half, SCSU dominated the opening stages jumping out to a 10-2 run to open the run, extending their lead to 46-32. Yet, that lead would slip away from SCSU as Mankato would come roaring, cutting the SCSU lead to 55-50 later in the second half.
It was fair from over at that point. The Huskies would not initially let the game slip away from them as Smith hit a pair of jumpers to push it back to a 7-point lead, before the Mavericks scored three straight baskets to knot the score up at 60.
MSU-Mankato would earn their first lead of the half when the score turned 69-67 with just 1:26 left in the 2nd half. Brindley Theisen would find a big basket to tie the game at 69. Both teams missed chances in the final seconds of regulation, pushing the marquee matchup into overtime.
Mankato came in clutch in overtime, scoring nine straight points to take a 78-69 lead. The Huskies would not recover from the deficit, failing on late free throws and a 3-point attempt that would end the game in favor of MSU – Mankato. The final score read Mavericks 80, St. Cloud State 77.
The loss for SCSU ends the three-game winning streak the Huskies were on to open the season. St. Cloud State won both straight matchups with the Mavericks during the 2017-18 season, as the loss Saturday afternoon for SCSU ends that streak vs. Mankato as well.
Gage Davis walked away from the game with a massive scoring line, finishing the game with a season high 28 points while pacing the Huskies on the glass with 13 rebounds for already his third double double in the young season. Brindley Theisen featured a very strong shooting effort, going 7-15 from the floor as well as Jace Kitchen scoring all 11 of his points in the second half for SCSU.
St. Cloud State will spend their Thanksgiving weekend on the west coast with a pair of matchups in the Sea Lion Thanksgiving Classic in San Diego, CA.
