Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer
DENVER — A school-record 24 victories, a No. 1 ranking during the midseason, the first trip to the NCAA II men's basketball tournament in 29 years, one of the final 32 teams playing.
It was a season to remember at Minnesota State, one of the most successful in school history.
It all ended Sunday at the North Central Region tournament as top-seeded Metropolitan State, ranked second in Division II, downed Minnesota State 85-64, the worst loss of the season for the Mavericks.
"We played the best basketball team we've faced all year," Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler said. "If they keep playing like that, they're going to win it all."
Metro State used an eight-point run to lead 10-4 after four minutes, but Luke Anderson's 3-pointer stopped the momentum momentarily. Metro State started to pound the ball inside, and the Mavericks went cold as the lead grew to 14 points midway through the opening half. The Mavericks (24-8) made just 4 of their first 15 shots, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range.
"That's basketball, sometimes the shots go in and out," senior forward Jamel Staten said. "You have to move on. We just dug ourselves a hole we couldn't get out of."
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half. Minnesota State didn't score consecutive baskets at any point of the opening 20 minutes, which ended with Metro State up 39-25.
The Roadrunners shot 51.5 percent in the first half, while the Mavericks made just 34.5 percent, hitting 4 of 12 from 3-point range.
"We had some open looks," senior guard Andy Moeller said. "We just didn't knock 'em down."
Moeller hit a 3-pointer and two free throws to bring the deficit back to 47-33 after four minutes of the second half, but Metro State scored six straight to rebuild the lead.
The Mavericks' best stretch offensively came at the 9:31 mark, when Jamel Staten hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-3 run to make it 69-51. However, the Roadrunners closed strong.
"We had some opportunities early that we didn't capitalize on," Margenthaler said. "That's a physical team, and we couldn't maintain our focus, especially on the defensive end."
Moeller finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Staten scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds. Minnesota State shot 42.3 percent in the second half, 38.2 percent for the game.
Metro State shot 68.2 percent in the second half, 58.2 percent for the game. The Roadrunners had all five starters score 10 or more points, led by Mark Worthington's 22. Michael Morse had 19 points and Ben Ortner scored 15.
"They had a lot of key baskets in the post," Staten said. "They had three tough guys in the post, and our interior defense wasn't there tonight."
Metro State (28-3) plays in the region championship game against South Dakota on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the NCAA II Elite Eight, which will be held March 23-26 at Grand Forks, N.D.
"I'm very proud of our team, I'm very proud of the four seniors," Margenthaler said. "They've changed the face of Minnesota State basketball.
"You need this experience to get back here," Margenthaler said. "I was very proud of the way we played (Saturday night), which helped us tonight. Tonight's game will help us next year."
