DULUTH — Senior forward Jamel Staten scored a career-high 41 points to lead Minnesota State past Minnesota-Duluth 88-70 in the North Central Conference men's basketball opener for both teams Thursday.
Staten was 13 of 21 from the field, including 3 of 8 from 3-point range, and 12 of 13 at the free-throw line to eclipse his previous high game of 40 points last season at St. Cloud State. Staten also had 10 rebounds and four assists.
It was the most points since Blaine Joerger scored 42 points against South Dakota State in 1999. The school record is 50 points by Jon Hagen in 1965.
"He was unbelievable, he absolutely did everything," coach Matt Margenthaler said. "The thing I liked most was he played hard the entire time he was in the game."
Luke Anderson added 26 points, and Andy Moeller scored 12 points with six rebounds and three assists.
The Mavericks shot 44.8 percent, though they made just 7 of 27 from 3-point range. Minnesota State had a 48-38 advantage in rebounding.
"We shot the ball well, we got out and ran better than we have since the (Southwest Minnesota State) tournament," Margenthaler said. "That's something we've worked hard on the last three days, getting stops and getting back to the way we needed to play."
Minnesota-Duluth (7-8) shot just 38.8 percent for the game. John Emerson led the Bulldogs, playing their first game since rejoining the NCC, with 16 points. Bryan Foss added 14 points, one more than Sean Seaman.
Minnesota State (14-1, 1-0 in NCC), ranked seventh in Division II and second in the North Central Region, plays a nonconference home game Saturday against Upper Iowa. Game time has been changed to 7 p.m.
