Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball vs. U-Mary: SCSU 79, UM 59
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Huskies Make Marauders Pay for Early Turnovers, Win 79-59
Friday, January 23, 2009
Theo Rothstein scored a career high 15 points, and was the Huskies second leading scorer as they won their second straight, besting U-Mary 79-59 in Halenbeck Hall. |
St. Cloud, Minn. – The St. Cloud State men’s basketball team turned 18 University of Mary turnovers into 25 points, including 10 on the fast break, on their way to a convincing 79-59 victory over the guest Marauders this evening (Jan. 23) in Halenbeck Hall. Three Huskies scored in double figures while SCSU limited the Marauders’ leading scorers to just 11 points.
U-Mary (5-12, 3-7) entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the league, having knocked of then first place Minnesota Duluth as well as a streaking Bemidji State team on their way to a 2-0 mark last weekend. It looked early as if U-Mary would continue their recent success as they began the game on a 7-0 run before St. Cloud State (12-5, 7-3) could get on the board at the 17:16 mark of the opening half.
Once they did get on the board, it was the Taylor Witt (Morris, Minn.) show for a span of 3:47 as he scored the Huskies first five points, and 11 of their first 18, while SCSU went on a 18-0 run during that time to take an 18-7 lead at the 13:29 mark.
Just a few minutes later, a little excitement was brought to Halenbeck Hall as the Huskies slammed home a pair of dunks on back-to-back possessions courtesy of Andrew Bernstetter (St. Joseph, Minn.) and Theo Rothstein (St. Michael, Minn.). Rothstein’s dunk at the 10:30 mark came off one of those 18 Marauder turnovers, after he stole the ball at midcourt and broke free for the easy two to give the Huskies a 24-9 advantage.
St. Cloud State was able to extend their lead to as much as 19 in the first half at 30-11 after Brett Carmichael (Elk River, Minn.) hit his second of two free throws at the 6:53 mark.
The Huskies scored all 10 of their fast break points in the first half and held an 18-2 advantage in points off turnovers. Into the intermission they lead, 42-27.
A small run by U-Mary to start the second half saw the visitors close to within 12 at 47-35 at the 14:51 mark, but that was as close as they would get as SCSU countered with a 14-5 run to stretch their lead to 21 at the 8:31 mark after a Brett Putz (Forest City, Iowa) three-pointer capped it off.
Witt finished as the game’s leading scorer with 25, marking the second best outing of his career. He shot 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-7 from behind the arc, and 5-of-6 at the line. Joining him on the leader board was Rothstein who netted a career high 15 on a perfect shooting night from the field, going 5-for-5, as well as 5-of-6 from the free throw line. The 5-for-5 tally from the field is SCSU’s best mark this season. Putz was the last Husky in double figures, as he added 12.
A strong night for the SCSU defense, they held U-Mary to just 59 points, with just two players hitting double figures with Zach Dosch and Jason West each finishing with 11.
Tonight’s game marked the midway point of the conference season, and the win the Huskies move into a five-way tie for second place in the NSIC standings. Augustana, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Southwest Minnesota and SCSU are all 7-3, looking up at 8-3 Winona State alone in first place. The Huskies next opponent, #16 Northern State, fell today on the road at Concordia, 74-78, and is 6-4 in NSIC play and alone in seventh place. Tip-off for tomorrow’s (Jan.24) match-up is set for 8:00 pm.
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