By Tom Froemming
January 25, 2005
The No. 13 is widely recognized as an unlucky number. Friday the 13th is thought of as a day on which bad things happen. There were 13 people at Jesus Crist's last supper before he was crucified. The Apollo 13 mission lifted off 13 minutes past the hour on April 13th. The MSU men's basketball team ran out of luck in its 13th game of the season.
The 12-0 start tied the school record for most consecutive wins to start a season. The 1931-32 MSU team won 12 straight, but then fell in their 13th game of the season. The 2004-05 Mavs would suffer the same fate.
MSU concluded finals week with a 75-56 home victory against Minnesota State- Moorhead Dec. 19. Senior forward Jamel Staten managed just seven points in 17 minutes, snapping his 30-game double-digit scoring streak.
MSU traveled to Monmouth, Ore., for the Red Lion Hotel-Fibromyalgia Classic Dec. 29. The Mavs squared off against Central Washington, which entered the game with a record of 2-6 compared to MSU's status as the No. 2 team in the nation. Central Washington jumped on the Mavericks early, but despite shooting just 29 percent from the floor in the first half, MSU was down just 35-26. The Mavs chipped away at the lead throughout the second half and with 6:51 left in the game, senior guard Andy Moeller put in a layup that tied the score at 59. CWU recaptured the lead and went 17 for 19 at the free-throw line in the last two minutes of the game to seal the 88-78 victory.
"I think if we were going to take a loss, that was a good time to take it," head coach Matt Margenthaler said. "It kind of got our guys refocused."
MSU had a positive turnover margin (13-12) and out-rebounded CWU 35-29 but lost.
"We learned a valuable lesson, we have to come to play every game," Staten said. "We're probably going to end up benefiting from this loss by the end of the season."
The Mavs bounced back the next night, beating Western Oregon 73-66. Jamel Staten and Luke Anderson were named to the All-Red Lion Hotel-Fibromyalgia Classic Team. Staten scored 39 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, while Anderson scored 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds during their two games in Monmouth.
MSU returned to Minnesota as the No. 7 team in the nation and opened its North Central Conference schedule Jan. 6 with an 88-70 road win against Minnesota-Duluth. Jamel Staten had a monster day, scoring a career-high 41 points and tallying 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.
After clobbering Upper Iowa 95-47 Jan. 8, MSU hosted NCC rival St. Cloud State Friday. The Mavs won 101-98 in overtime in front of 3,105 fans, the eighth largest crowd ever in Bresnan Arena. MSU was able to stay ahead of the Huskies for most of the first half, going into the break up 44-38. SCSU slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half and pulled within one point of MSU with just 46 seconds remaining in the game. Andy Moeller hit a runner on the next possession, but SCSU's Brad Evans hit a three pointer with four seconds left to tie the game.
The two teams exchanged blows in overtime. SCSU took the lead 98-97 with just 34 seconds left to play. Jamel Staten was fouled and converted both of his free throw attempts, putting the Mavs up one point. The Huskies failed to take the lead back and Andy Moeller hit two more free throws to seal the victory for MSU.
Moeller ended the game with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds. The win snapped MSU's nine-game losing streak against St. Cloud State.
Saturday, the Mavs defeated Minnesota-Duluth 91-62 in Bresnan Arena, earning a season sweep over the Bulldogs. The 3-0 start in the NCC is MSU's best since the 1994-95 season. Center Chris Whitfield tied the MSU career blocked-shots record just 18 games into his junior season.
MSU, ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the region, looks to extend its five-game winning streak tonight on the road against North Dakota and against Augustana Saturday.
Tom Froemming is the Reporter Sports Editor
