By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO — Jefferson Mason took the pass from Jermain Davis for a big dunk, then Mason returned the favor to Davis, who sailed high for a dunk over the defender. Then Jesse Clark made a steal and behind-the-back pass for another Mason dunk.
Most people expected the Minnesota State men’s basketball team would have an easy time in Friday’s game against last-place Minnesota Crookston, and most people were right. But the Mavericks showed chemistry and teamwork with a season-high 29 assists in a 105-55 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory Friday at Bresnan Arena.
“That was 40 minutes of unselfish basketball,” coach Matt Margenthaler said. “Some people might look at the score, but that’s the way we play. We’re not going to change how we play, and I challenged the guys (at halftime) to play the same way in the second half. We have to continue getting better, and that’s our challenge every game.”
Clark, the senior point guard, became the second player in program history to reach 500 assists, joining Gene Glynn, who set the record of 760 assists from 1976-80. Clark said that his family has been friends with Glynn’s family for a long time, and Glynn was in the crowd Friday night to watch.
“I’ve known Gene for a long time, and I played with Tony (Thomason), who is No. 3, so it’s pretty cool to be in their company,” Clark said. “I knew I could play when I came here (as a walk-on), but I didn’t know I could do this. I’ve been blessed to play with a lot of talented players.”
The Mavericks had assists on 12 of the first 14 field goals, with the other two coming on Davis’ hard drives to the basket. The game was reasonably close until that assist-to-dunk string by Davis and Mason that highlighted a 25-5 run over the final eight minutes. That made it 53-23 at halftime.
The Mavericks had 15 assists by halftime, which fueled the 66.7 percent shooting.
The second half was a flurry of dunks and 3-pointers as the Mavericks continued to make extra passes and defend. The largest lead was 52 with five minutes remaining as Minnesota State finished with 62.1 percent shooting, the 12th-best single game performance in program history.
Travis Nelson and Mason each scored 16 points, leading seven players that reached double figures. The Mavericks’ reserves scored 56 points, one more than the Minnesota Crookston team, and Minnesota State had a 25-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
“That was good basketball,” Clark said. “Everybody has bought into playing together and helping each other, offensively and defensively. You feel like if you make a pass for a dunk or a layup, that gets everybody going. When we do that, we’re tough to stop.”
Minnesota State (20-1, 13-1 in Northern Sun) plays Minnesota State-Moorhead at 8 p.m. today before finishing the regular season with four of five games on the road.
“The guys were very focused tonight, and we didn’t have to play anybody big minutes,” Margenthaler said. “We need to be that focused every night.”
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON 55
Graves 1-4 0-1 2, Hendricks 5-12 0-0 10, Weeks 1-6 2-2 4, Heier 5-11 3-3 15, Cruz 3-7 1-1 8, Servaty 3-7 0-0 9, Boebel 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Larsen 2-9 0-0 45, Rahja 0-0 0-0 0, Longar 1-4 0-2 2. Totals: 21-62 6-9 55.
MINNESOTA STATE 105
Nelson 7-9 2-3 16, Mason 4-4 8-9 16, Clark 1-1 2-2 4, Davis 4-9 2-3 10, Drapcho 1-2 1-1 3, Hill 3-8 4-4 11, Hodges 5-9 2-3 13, Kirschbaum 2-3 5-6 10, Morrow 4-5 0-0 10, Weldon 2-3 0-0 5, Bisenius 1-1 0-0 2, Grundman 1-1 0-0 2, Benson 0-2 0-0 0, Greeley 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 36-58 26-31 105.
Halftime: Minnesota State 53, Minnesota Crookston 23. 3-point shooting: Minnesota Crookston 7-23 (Weeks 0-3, Heier 2-7, Cruz 1-3, Servaty 3-6, Larsen 1-4), Minnesota State 7-15 (Davis 0-1, Drapcho 0-1, Hill 1-5, Hodges 1-2, Kirschbaum 1-1, Morrow 2-2, Weldon 1-2, Greeley 1-1). Rebounds: Minnesota Crookston 28 (Graves 5), Minnesota State 40 (Mason, Grundman, Greeley 4). Assists: Minnesota Crookston 12 (Weeks 5), Minnesota State 29 (Hill 7). Steals: Minnesota Crookston 3 (Heier 2), Minnesota State 11 (Clark, Greeley 3). Turnovers: Minnesota Crookston 17, Minnesota State 9. Total fouls: Minnesota Crookston 21, Minnesota State 15. Fouled out: Minnesota Crookston (Servaty).
Attendance: 1,402.
