By Ryan McNamara / sports@kvsc.org / Photo by SCSU Athletics

2/19/21 – St. Cloud State 60 – Minnesota Duluth 73

The Huskies needed at least one win this weekend to get a playoff bid, and they fought for one Friday night.

After one half, St. Cloud State’s defense did not have an answer for Minnesota-Duluth, who made eight three-pointers in the first half. The Huskies were down 43-28 and shot just 2 of 13 beyond-the-arc.

The Huskies came alive in the second half, led by five straight points and a steal in under thirty seconds from Ryan Bagley, cutting the lead to 53-50 with eleven minutes remaining. The run ended there, and the Huskies could not keep up with the Bulldogs, who continued their hot streak in the final ten minutes.

Minnesota-Duluth picked up their fourth win in five contests, winning 73-60.

St. Cloud State’s defense was not the Huskies’ only problem that evening, as they only shot 4 of 24 from three, and went 6 of 15 from the free-throw line. Anthony Roberts, Caleb Donaldson, Josh Tomasi and Ryan Bagley all scored in double figures for St. Cloud State, who didn’t lead at any point during the game.

2/20/21 – St. Cloud State 91 – Minnesota Duluth 86

It all came down to Saturday night, and the Huskies came to play. After a tough loss, St. Cloud State fixed many of their problems and were firing on all cylinders.

The Huskies’ offense torched Minnesota-Duluth, making nine 3’s in the first half, five more than they made all of Friday night. The Huskies’ defense held the Bulldogs to only 36 points and lead by seven at the break.

St. Cloud State never lost the lead during the second half, leading by as many as fifteen. Minnesota-Duluth did not go down easy, cutting the lead to four with under a minute left, although they could not get any closer. St. Cloud State won 91-86, led by a season-high 13 made three-pointers.

Anthony Roberts led SCSU with 29 points, Caleb Donaldson, Matthew Willert and Josh Tomasi also scored in double figures. Ryan Bagley added his third double-digit assist game of the season, with eleven.

Anthony Roberts finished the season with top-10 conference finishes in points per game (2nd) and rebounds per game (6th). Ryan Bagley led the conference in total assists (87) as well as assists per game (5.4). Joining Roberts in the points per game top-10 was Caleb Donaldson, who averaged 16.7 in conference-play.

The St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Team finished 8-8 overall and 6-6 in-conference. They play next on February 25th at 7 p.m. against Wayne State for the quarterfinals in the NSIC Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon.