Article

So Hot

Men's hoops rises to No. 5 in nation after going undefeated during winter break and moving their unbeaten streak to 15.

by Dax Larson

Issue date: 1/18/07 Section: Mens Sports

Last season ended with a huge collapse which cost the No. 5 Minnesota Sate men's basketball team a chance to move on in the NCAA Division II tournament. The Mavericks knew this season they had to finish games if they wanted a national championship.

MSU went 9-0 over break, but more importantly, 3-0 in the North Central Conference. The Mavericks are currently 17-1 with a 15-game winning streak - the longest single season streak in team history. The biggest win came on Jan. 4 when the Mavericks overcame University of Minnesota-Duluth 86-81 in double overtime.

"With conference play, the last five minutes wins games," said coach Matt Margenthaler. "Being able to finish is huge. We have veterans like Luke (Anderson), Paris (Kyles) and Tony (Thomason) who are going to make plays."

Many good things came from the home win against UMD. The most important of which is the Mavericks were able to finish the game and get a win. Last season the Mavericks had a 14-point lead in the second half of the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament against Winona State and ended up losing the game. This season MSU made it a goal to finish games. The UMD win proved they could finish games, even though it took two overtime periods.

"It is good that we know we can get stops and play defense," Kyles said. "This is a tough conference. We have to be able to win close games."

Another important aspect of the win was the Mavericks' ability to play with intensity and focus at home, something they had been lacking all season. For some reason the Mavericks were playing harder on the road and giving sub-par teams a chance to beat them at home. Even with a smaller crowd than normal than normal, the Mavericks were able to feed off some of the energy and make some big shots.

"If we continue to play well at home we will be hard to beat," Margenthaler said.

MSU started the long anticipated conference play with a win. MSU is 20-13 all-time in conference openers. Kyles and Anderson contributed 26 points in the game, both season highs for the guards. Kyles had six of the Mavericks' 15 overtime points. MSU had as much as an 11 point lead in the second half before UMD got on a run and took the lead with just over six minutes left. It was their first lead since five minutes into the game.

The Mavericks reached a three-point lead with 25 seconds to go on two Thomason free throws. UMD had the last shot and found the bottom of the net on a three-point shot with four seconds to go sending the game into overtime. In the first overtime, Kyles' lay-up with a minute remaining tied the game for the tenth time. MSU drove to the hole for most of both the overtime periods, to either draw a foul or get an easy bucket.

"We put the ball to the floor," Margenthaler said. "It was what we wanted to do, get guys going to the basket."

There was no scoring in the last minute, but MSU had two opportunities at the last shot, but came up just short. The Mavericks stopped messing around in the second overtime and with a huge three by Thomason and key free throws from Kyles, the Mavericks were able to put down the Bulldogs 86-81.

MSU defeated North Dakota 92-91 on Jan. 6. Although the score was close, the game was never in doubt for the Mavericks. North Dakota hit two three-pointers in the last three seconds to make it a one-point game. On Jan. 11, the Mavericks went to St. Cloud to battle the Huskies. The last time the two teams met was in the Wells Fargo Conference Tournament where MSU beat SCSU 78-69. MSU dominated the Huskies 83-73 to improve their conference record to 3-0.

"Tony (Thomason) is the glue to our basketball team," Margenthaler said. "Luke (Anderson) is taking better shots and playing great defense. Paris (Kyles) has risen for league games."

The Mavericks are hot heading into a three-game homestand where they face-off against three conference foes: Augustana on Saturday, a rematch with North Dakota on Jan. 25 and South Dakota on Jan. 27. Each game tips off at 8 p.m.

Dax Larson is a Reporter staff writer