Mens College Basketball: Mavericks open season with 70-55 victory over Dickinson State

Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men’s basketball team opened the season Sunday afternoon with a 70-55 victory over Dickinson State University in front of 457 fans in the Taylor Center.

The win marked the eighth time that MSU has won its opener under head coach Matt Margenthaler, and the third time in a row that it has done so.

“A win is a win,” said Margenthaler. “We did some nice things tonight, but we also have some stuff we need to work on. We were better tonight than last week, and we have to be better Saturday than we were tonight."

The first half was a bit of a back-and-forth affair until MSU used an 11-2 run to open a 32-22 advantage with 4:22 remaining in the half. The run was opened with a three-point basketball by freshman guard Kelly Madison and then followed with back-to-back dunks by sophomores Jimmy Whitehead and Connor O’Brien. Ironically enough, both dunks were assisted by each other and both came in transition. Freshman post TJ Okafor closed out the run with a pair of free throws.

The Blue Hawks wouldn’t go quietly however as they used a 7-0 to trim the Maverick lead to 32-29 at the break.
O’Brien led MSU in the opening half with eight points, six rebounds and four assists as MSU shot 35.5 percent in the opening half.

The game remained close throughout the first ten minutes of the second half until Madison hit back-to-back three-point baskets to push MSU to a 53-47 lead with 6:26 remaining in the game, from that point on Minnesota State worked with a two-possession lead.

O’Brien led MSU with 15 points along with 15 rebounds and six assists. It marked his fourth career double-double, and the 15 points tied his career high, while the 15 rebounds and six assists were both career bests.

Whitehead added a team-high 16 points while Madison came off the bench to score 14. The Mavericks shot 40.7 for the game while outrebounding DSU, 39-38. Minnesota State forced 18 turnovers in the win, turning them into 14 points.

The Mavericks (1-0) travel to Michigan Tech next weekend. Game time is set for 1 p.m. (CST).

Courtesy: Scott Nelsen/Minnesota State University, Mankato