Article

Deja Vu

Mavericks' record-breaking season ends at Winona State for second straight year.

by Dax Larson

Issue date: 3/20/07 Section: Mens Sports

After finishing the North Central Conference post season as the winningest team in Minnesota State basketball history and gaining a share of the regular season title, the Mavericks (28-5) still wanted more. MSU earned the No. 2 seed in the North Central Region of the Division II NCAA tournament. The Mavericks moved past Fort Lewis and Metro State to get to the region championship game - the furthest in the tournament any MSU team has ever gotten. Unfortunately, they had to face the undefeated and reigning national champions, Winona State. The Mavericks fell 89-76 to the Warriors Tuesday, ending their historic season.

"It came down to four or five possessions where we had open looks and they didn't go down," said Mavericks head coach Matt Margenthaler. "We went down swinging. They're (Winona State) no fluke."

"We battled and we fought," said senior Paris Kyles. "We didn't knock down some shots we normally knock down. We couldn't get the stops."

In a rematch of last season's region semifinals, the Mavericks and the Warriors squared off at McCown Gymnasium in Winona, Minn. to see what team would advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Mavericks put up a valiant effort, but fell short. With the win, the Warriors extended their winning streak to 55 and moved one step closer to repeating as national champions. The Mavericks had no regrets to how they performed in their final game of the season.

"We did everything we could," said junior Atila Santos. "We just couldn't get back."

"We played our hearts out. We just didn't come out with a win," Kyles said. "Until the last horn sounded we thought we had a chance to win."

MSU started on the right foot by gaining an early lead in the first half. Three consecutive possessions in the middle of the half saw Kyles driving to the hoop and scoring on the lay-ups. The effort by Kyles gave the Mavericks an 18-7 lead with 12:53 left. But Winona State woke up and the Mavericks went cold for the next seven minutes and all of a sudden the game was tied 28-28 with five minutes to play. The Warriors earned their first lead of the game at the 2:18 mark, but back-to-back three-pointers from senior Luke Anderson and sophomore Jake Morrow put the Mavericks back on top. Despite senior Tony Thomason only playing three minutes due to foul trouble and WSU shooting 48.6 percent from the field, MSU was up 40-38 at half.

"We had one of our best starts all year," Margenthaler said. "They had no answer for Paris."

In last season's semifinal game, the Mavericks owned a two-point lead at halftime and came out in the second half on fire to gain an early double-digit lead. But this year the Mavericks didn't come out with the same fire. The first 10 minutes of the second half was a see-saw match as the two teams traded baskets. But then the Warriors used their home court advantage and their confidence to pull away from the Mavericks. At the five-minute mark, the Mavericks were down 11 and needed to make a run, but couldn't muster the comeback.

"It really shows how important it is to be No. 1 and host the tournament," Margenthaler said. "It's better to have been there and lost to not have been there at all. Winona was business the whole time. They are a very confident team."

The Mavericks were led by Kyles who scored 22 points and dished out three assists. Santos record his second straight double-double - his fourth this season - with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Anderson added 18 points in his final game as a Maverick.

"After the Fort Lewis game, I was frustrated," Santos said. "I really had to step it up."

"He (Santos) was the best big on the floor," Margenthaler said. "Better than John Smith."

The Mavericks breezed through Fort Lewis on Mar. 10, winning 85-71. Anderson led the Mavericks with 28 points on 6-11 from three-point land. MSU battled with Metro State Mar. 11, but were able to pull out a win with a 70-68 victory. The Mavericks used the last five minutes of the game to gain the victory with a strong offense and tough defense. Santos recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

Dax Larson is a Reporter staff writer