Mavericks shoot down Skyhawks, advance to Elite Eight

Four thousand fans packed the Taylor Center to watch the Maverick seniors put on a show, and blow past Fort Lewis College 81-63 to claim the NCAA central region title.

Tuesday night's NCAA central region championship game started off in strange fashion as Fort Lewis was given a pregame technical foul for having an error in on their official roster card. Marcus Hill stepped to the line, drained 2 free throws, and gave MSU a 2-0 lead before the game had even officially tipped off.


After the unexpected start to the game, both teams settled into the fast pace, back and forth game everyone expect it would be. Both teams traded runs throughout the first half. MSU took the first significant lead at 25-16 on the heels of a Jefferson Mason hoop and harm. Fort Lewis then went on a 9-0 run of their own, highlighted by seven points from senior guard David Kanyinda to tie the game at 25-25.


The Mavericks then started to slowly pull away, finding themselves with a 10 point lead thanks to the hard nose effort in the paint by Jefferson Mason, and Cameron Hodges. Both seniors finished the first half with 14 and 13 points respectively. A Conner O'Brien tip in at the buzzer gave MSU a 44-34 lead at the half.

After mounting a 10 point lead before halftime, the Mavericks continued to keep their foot on the gas throughout the second half. Matt Morris converted a free throw after a hoop and foul with 16:08 left in the second half to to bring the Skyhawks within eight points at 49-41. But was as close as the Skyhawks would get.

With strong second half performances from Mason, Hodges, and Drapcho, MSU easily coasted to a 81-63 victory and punch their ticket to Springfield, MA, and the DII NCAA Elite Eight.

The Maverick seniors lead the way, as they have all season. Jefferson Mason finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds on the night. Cameron Hodges tallied 23 points and 6 rebounds, while Marcus Hill dished out a career high 13 assists.

An ecstatic coach Margenthaler chatted after the game with The Fan's Casey Lloyd, "This is what I envisioned ten years ago when I started here. We did it, we absolutely did it, and we're going to the Elite Eight!"

"Our role players stepped op, Joe Dapcho was the key, Jimmy whitehead played a nice game, and defensively we did a nice job", Margenthaler added.

MSU will play again on Wednesday, March 23rd at 1:30pm against Alabama-Huntsville.

Mavericks aim to shoot down Skyhawks.

Minnesota State has watched Fort Lewis all season. Well, at least on paper they have. The two teams that have been battling in the region polls all season, and will finally clash on the hard wood on Tuesday night.

Fort Lewis had been ranked #1 in the first two regional polls until the Mavericks bumped them and took the top spot in the poll released February 9th. Fort Lewis held on to 2nd place, nipping at the Mavericks heels, but Minnesota State's performance down the stretch gave the Sky Hawks little chance to regain the top spot.

Fort Lewis College is lead by senior guard DeAndre Lansdowne. Landsdowne has been the Skyhawks leadings scorer, averaging 15.1 points per game despite shooting an abysmal 49% from the free throw line. In a big game, at home, look for MSU to put Lansdowne at the line rather than give him any free runs at the hoop.

The Mavericks have had different players step up so far throughout the tournament. Marcus Hill stepped up on Saturday night, putting up 27 points as the Mavericks pulled away from Winona State. Sunday saw Taylor Morrow stepping up to sink key three pointers to turn the tide for MSU. With a talented lineup, the only question is, who will step up on Tuesday night and punch the Maverick's ticket to Springfield, MA?

The Mavericks and Skyhawks square off Tuesday night at 7:00pm at MSU's Taylor Center. Tune into the game right here on your home for MSU Basketball, AM 1230 KYSM The Fan Mankato.

Mason, Mavericks trip up Roadrunners, advance to region championship

Jefferson Mason put up 25 points and pulled down 9 rebounds as Minnesota State defeated Metro State 69-65 in the semifinals of the NCAA central region tournament.

The first half was marred by bad shooting from both teams. Minnesota State shot only 31% from the field while Metro State didn't fair any better, shooting only 30%. With both teams struggling, neither team had a chance to make a significant run. Metro State claimed the largest lead of the first half when they went up 22-17 on two Shakir Johnson free throws. The Mavericks were able to come back and tie the game at 27-27 heading into halftime.

The second half started off much like the first. Both team traded buckets, with neither taking a decisive advantage through the first ten minutes of the second half. The turning point in the game came when Taylor Marrow drained a three pointer with 12:12 left to tie the game at 44-44. Morrow's bucket brought both the home crowd, and MSU's offense to life. The Mavericks then went on a 12-2 run, turning a five point deficit into a five point lead.

Metro State continued to battle and had a chance to tie the game with 14 seconds left as Reggie Evans stepped to the freethrow line for the Roadrunners. Evans then missed both free throw attempts. Jefferson Mason pulled down his ninth rebound and was fouled to seal the victory for MSU. Jefferson Mason added two free throws to finish the game with 25 points, and extend the Mavericks lead to the eventual final of 69-65.

The Mavericks will now move on to face Fort Lewis in the central region championship game on Tuesday night at 7:00pm. Of course we'll have that for you right here on AM 1230 The Fan Mankato. Also, don't miss the MSU coach's show with Matt Margenthaler Monday night at 7:00pm live from Buffalo Wild Wings in downtown Mankato.

Mavericks down Warriors, move on to NCAA region semifinals

Marcus Hill put up 27 points to push Minnesota State past the Winona State Warriors 96-81, and advance to NCAA Central Region tournament semifinals.

The first round of the NCAA Central Region tournament saw MSU pitted against NSIC rival Winona State. Right from the tip off, both teams came out swinging.


MSU dealt the first punch, going on a 6-0 run to start off the game, and forcing WSU to call a timeout to regroup. WSU then fought back, going on a 5-0 run themselves to draw the game to 6-5. MSU maintained a small lead until WSU's Clayton Vette sank a free throw with 8:51 left in the first half to give Winona State their first lead of the game.

Both teams traded the lead back and forth until Marcus Hill sank a bucket to give MSU a 26-25 lead. MSU then went on a 11-1 run to mount a 40-30 lead before halftime.


MSU's Marcus Hill was the story of the first half, scoring 19 of his 27 points and shooting 70% from the field. Clayton Vette lead WSU with 11 points in the first half.

Where the first half lived up to the hype before the game, the second half saw a one-sided affair as MSU went on a 23-5 to start the second half, giving them a 63-35 lead. After that run, Winona State found themselves in a hole they couldn't climb out of. Minnesota State seemed to put the game on cruise control and maintained thier 20 point lead throughout most of the 2nd half to down the Warriors 96-81.

Marcus Hill finished with 27 points, leading all scorers. Clayton Vette put up 24 points to lead the Warriors in scoring.

MSU will now move on to play on Sunday evening at 7:30pm against the winner of the University of Mary vs Metro State. We will have that game for you right here on The Fan Mankato.

Minnesota State prepares to host NCAA regionals.

NCAA banners continue to be hung as Minnesota State University prepares to play host to the DII NCAA Central Region tournament this weekend. Featuring schools from the Rockey Mountain Athletic Conference and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the tournament will take 8 schools and whittle them down to a single school to represent the central region in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Minnesota State enters the tournament Saturday with the #1 seed, and ranked eighth nationally following a 23-3 regular season. This is the second consecutive season that MSU has hosted the regional tournament.

The Mavericks will square off against the eight-seeded, and perennial foe, Winona State University. Winona State secured a spot in the regional tournament after winning the NSIC tournament last weekend in St. Paul. In that tournament WSU took down Minnesota State 82-74 in the second round en-route to the tournament title.

This will be the fourth time Minnesota State and Winona State have squared off this season, with MSU sweeping the regular season and WSU getting their revenge, bumping MSU in the NSIC tournament.

What to look for:

• Minnesota State's senior guard Marcus Hill has averaged 22 points over the past three meetings with Winona State. Look for Hill to play a large role in this match-up.
• Winona State has dominated the boards in the previous three meetings this season. Minnesota State needs a Kevin Love type performance from their leading rebounder Jefferson Mason to curb WSU's edge.
• Anthony Tucker was recently suspended from WSU for an alcohol related incident as the Warriors prepared for the playoffs. Tuckers replacment, Jon Walburg, has played well so far since taking over, averageing 14 points per game.
• MSU set their season high for attendance when MSU faced off against WSU on January 28th. With Winona State planning on fan buses and the MSU students planning a "white out", the atmosphere should be electric.

The game is scheduled Saturday, 6pm at Minnesota State's Taylor Center. You can hear the game on the home of Minnesota State University basketball, AM 1230 KYSM "The Fan" or on the web at www.msumavericks.com

Tickets are available for $15 reserved seat and $10 for general admission. Youth, seniors, or students (K-12, college students with ID) are only $5. You can purchase tickets in person or online.

Hodges, Mason Tame Wildcats, Mavericks Advance in NSIC Tournament.

Cameron Hodges lead the way with 22 points, as Minnesota State took down Wayne State 70-60 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.

The game started off with a back and forth first half. MSU opened the game with a a 7-0 run to start the game, forcing Wayne State to call an early time out to regroup.

Wayne State came out of the time out and went on a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 7-7.
Brad Starken then used the 3 ball, hitting 4 of 6 from the field in the first half to open a 30-22 lead for the Wildcats.

The Mavericks then went on 8-0 run to tie things up at 30-30 with 2:20 left in the first half. The Mavericks Cameron Hodges ended the first half with and exclamation point, rejecting a shot on the defensive end and finishing with a monster dunk to put MSU up 36-33 at halftime.

Coach Schott chatted with The Fan's Casey Lloyd at halftime. " We were a little out of sync offensively at times and defensively no where to be found for a stretch" said Schott. "Offensively we need to move the ball around a little more, at times we were a little stagnant and just watching each other".

The second half didn't start with the same spark as the first, with both teams going cold from the field. There was only 3 points scored between the two teams in the first 4:39 of the second half. The lead changed hands a couple of times in the second half, but after taking the lead 50-48 with 9:07 left, MSU pulled away finishing with the 70-60 win.

Cameron Hodges had a great game for MSU, leading all scorers with 22 points and pulling down 8 rebounds.

Jefferson Mason finished with a career high 17 rebounds and 14 points which was good for his 8th double-double of the season.

The Mavericks will play Winona State Saturday at 2:30pm at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.

Click below to hear coach Margenthaler's post game interview with The Fan's Casey Lloyd.