Men finish off Mavericks in OT

Jonny Reese

The 22nd ranked team in the nation. The best free throw shooting team in the nation. These were just two of the things the SCSU men’s basketball team had to live up to going into their conference game against Minnesota State University, Mankato, on Saturday night.

They really didn’t do either as the Mavericks almost pulled the upset. Nonetheless, the Huskies played strong in overtime to close out the game with a 81-78 win.

Last week, a junior college transfer by the name of Jerome Beasley from UND gave the Huskies fits in an overtime loss. MSUM also had a new transfer on their squad, Jermaine Brown. However this time, the Huskies overcame a JUCO transfer and pulled out the victory.

SCSU (15-3, 7-3 NCC) led by ten, 67-57, with 3:52 left in the game. The Huskies wouldn’t score again during regulation, as the Mavs wouldn’t give up in front of 3,173 at the new Bresnan Arena. Senior guard Jonny Reese (St. Louis Park) missed on a 1-and 1 free throw attempt with 20.1 seconds left, with the Huskies still leading 67-65.

The Mavericks got the rebound, and Brown flushed home a dunk to tie the game. Freshmen point guard Nate Miller (Little Falls) attempted an awkward shot to win the game, but it fell way short of the basket.

In overtime, SCSU took control early. Senior B.J. Brant hit a jumper to put the Huskies ahead with 3:58 left. The basket gave Brant 1,000 points for his career. Junior forward Jason Kron’s three free throws gave SCSU the lead at 79-74 with :44 remaining, but that wasn’t enough.

The Mavs came back to within 80-78 on a Chris Johnson basket. But Reese stepped up this time and made one of two free throws as he was fouled on the ensuing Husky possession. The Mavs desperate three point attempts failed as the clock winded down.

Still, the Huskies only made 7 of 11 free throws in the last 2:29 of overtime to keep MSUM in the game. Bad free throw shooting isn’t usually expected out of the best free throw shooting team in Division II (80.8 percent).

The Huskies were also out-rebounded by the Mavs, 49-30. But their hot shooting (50.8 percent from the floor, 43.5 percent from downtown) quieted that alarming statistic.

Kron led the Huskies with 21 points, five boards, three assists and three blocks. Six of his 21 points came in overtime. Miller tied a career-best with 18 points. He also had seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. Brant added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Reese would finish with 13 points for SCSU.

Brown, the transfer from Bradley, led the Mavs with 19 points. He only shot 9 of 26 from the field though. Junior guard Drew Carlson scored 18 to help pace MSUM.

Another disturbing trend is how SCSU has started games hot, and then let other teams come back on them. Saturday was no different as the Huskies led 33-23 at halftime. The Huskies shot 52 percent in the first half, and also had five treys (they would finish with ten). Miller had 11 of his 18 in the first.

The key now for SCSU is to focus on slamming the door on the opponent early, so overtimes will be a thing of the past for this team. Unless they want to give their fans cardiac arrests during every game.

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