by Dax Larson
November 17, 2005
It’s hard for college students to stay focused for a 50-minute class. Unfortunately, for the Minnesota State men’s basketball team, it couldn’t stay focused for 30 minutes in a 40-minute basketball game Tuesday night, losing to No. 12 Winona State 81-72 in a non-conference match.
“The game should have been ours,” said head men’s basketball coach Matt Margenthaler. “We beat ourselves more than Winona beat us.”
MSU had a 53-50 lead with 9:40 left in the game, but Winona scored 14 of the next 18 points to take a 64-57 lead. MSU had a defensive breakdown and couldn’t control the dribble penetration from Winona. On offense, the Mavericks were taking quick shots and the guards weren’t moving. The Mavericks brought the game within five, but couldn’t make up for the let-down earlier in the quarter.
“We didn’t capitalize on a few opportunities,” said junior Luke Anderson. “We had some crucial defensive mental lapses.”
The Mavericks looked good in the first half where there were six ties and seven lead changes. They finished the first half leading 36-34 behind Anderson who had 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Paris Kyles added seven points, which all came in the final eight minutes.
MSU couldn’t seem to flow together on the floor. The guards were playing well on defense will the big men were giving up easy shots. On offense, the guards weren’t moving and the big men did a good job.
“We need to get into a good flow on both ends of the floor,” Margenthaler said. “Our focus went out the window. We need to maintain focus for 40 minutes.”
The Mavericks weren’t patient on offense in the second half and they took too many quick shots. They want to force the other team to play defense and push the ball more in the future. Margenthaler said the Mavs need to get more easy looks to get on a roll.
“The bigs need to rebound more and the guards need to produce more,” Anderson said. “We are easily better than them.”
Anderson finished the game with a career-high in rebounds with 16, three more than his previous mark. He also finished with 28 points, tying his career-high. Kyles had 18 points and five assists.
Next for the Mavericks is the 16th-annual Pepsi Tip-Off at the Taylor Center. Friday, MSU takes on Glenville State and Saturday meets Wayne State. Both games start at 8 p.m.
