#DragonsMarchOn: Ensemble Cast of Dragons Conquer Bulldogs in NSIC Tournament Championship
MSU Moorhead men’s basketball has completed its repeat conquest of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
The Dragons defeated Minnesota Duluth, 79-69, in the NSIC Tournament Final on Tuesday evening. Four Dragons scored in double figures in an all-around team effort. The win is MSUM’s second NSIC Tournament victory in as many years and is the second in program history.
MSUM would come out to a hot start that included four early three-pointers in the first five minutes. Gavin Baumgartner attributed two of those four and scored eight early points to put the Dragons in front 16-8. Lorenzo McGhee would score five consecutive points following a 6-2 Duluth run to give MSUM a 10-point advantage nearing the midway point in the half.
Dane Zimmer would nail his second three of the half to push that lead to 13. Coming into tonight’s game, Zimmer had made two three-pointers all season. The junior would continue his great tournament, nearly collecting a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds) in the first half. Following Zimmer’s second foul, the Dragons would look to Drew Hagen to play valuable minutes with Jaden Stanley-Williams out with an ankle injury. Hagen took a charge and forced a Bulldog turnover in his time on the floor, firing up MSUM’s bench and fans. Hagen later netted a three which nearly tore the roof off the Sanford Pentagon.
On the offensive end, McGhee continued to score at-will, putting in five more points along with a Trever Kaiser basket. Those scores put the Dragons up 36-22 with less than four minutes left in the half. MSUM would close the half with a buzzer-beating runner from Jacob Beeninga to head into the locker room leading 47-28. The Dragons shot 51.4 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. It was MSUM’s aggressive defensive effort that helped build the lead, holding the Bulldogs to 39.3 percent shooting and eight turnovers in the half.
Beeninga and Gavin Baumgartner opened the second half with back-to-back triples for the Dragons. Those makes would give MSUM a 53-30 advantage as it brought the team total to 10 threes early in the half. Duluth would respond to that with an 8-0 run to cut the Dragon lead to 15 points. While the Bulldogs would go on a 13-2 run, the Dragons lead remained in double figures with under 10 minutes left. A lovely pass from Gavin Baumgartner to Logan Kinsey for a jam swung the momentum back towards MSUM.
The Dragons would lead 69-54 with under four minutes remaining. Beeninga continued to showcase why he is a catalyst, burying a three and driving to the lane for lay-in on consecutive possessions. The sophomore dove on the floor to grab a steal with three and a half minutes left that enlivened Dragon fans. Beeninga would finish the game with 17 points.
MSUM would continue to hold a 10-point lead with just over a minute left to play. The Dragons would make five of six free throws in the final minute to put the game on ice. MSUM captured its second consecutive NSIC Tournament Championship with the 79-69 win. McGhee, Baumgartner, Zimmer and Beeninga were all named to the All-Tournament team with Beeninga being named Tournament MVP.
Top Dragons
Lorenzo McGhee: 20 points, seven rebounds
Gavin Baumgartner: 17 points, four rebounds, four assists
Jacob Beeninga: 17 points
Dane Zimmer: 13 points, 12 rebounds
Up Next
The Dragons (25-6) are now the NSIC’s automatic qualifier and will head to the NCAA Central Region Tournament March 11-14. The NCAA Division II Selection Show is scheduled for March 5 at 10 p.m.