Last season the Beavers enjoyed a memorable run that included a Top 25 ranking and a win over the nation’s No. 1 team.

When the Minot State University (MSU) men’s basketball team tips off the 2024-25 campaign, the Beavers hope to build upon that success and achieve even more.

“We’re excited that they set the bar,” said MSU head coach Matt Murken of last year’s team, as well as other previous teams. “There’s been a lot of work going into that over the years and a lot of hard work in the decade-plus now that I’ve been here as the head coach at Minot State, and I think setting that expectation last year has been exciting. Now we’ve got a bunch of guys that are hungry to continue that and prove that that wasn’t a one-year thing,” Minot State’s coach added, “that that’s something that we can continue to do on a year-to-year basis. So that’ll be a great challenge for us.”

The challenge begins this weekend with the Beavers battling East Central, Oklahoma, on Friday, November 8, and Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, November 9, at the American Family Insurance Classic hosted by Minnesota Duluth.

The Tigers were 13-15 last season while the Savage Storm were 23-9. The meeting is the first for Minot State against both programs.

And with this weekend being the first two games of a new season, the opponent matters but who Minot State is playing is less likely to affect the Beavers’ game plan.

“It’s time to play somebody else, and you can really start taking steps forward when you see some other teams and see what you’re doing great and see what you need to improve on,” said Murken.

Part of that falls on the Beavers veteran coach, Murken, who is now in season No. 12 leading Minot State. Murken has a 14-man deep roster with six newcomers, five of whom boast previous collegiate experience, and eight returners led by returning starter Jaxon Gunville along with Jalen Cook, Caleb Van De Griend, and Dylan Gichaba who all averaged double-digit minutes last season.

“I think we’ve seen great days of practice from about all 14 guys and now it’s time to see who can put that together consistently and be great on game day,” said Murken. “My job is to put the guys in there in the right spot to show what they can do because all those guys can really do some things to help our team.”

Starting with senior team captains Gunville and Cook.

Gunville, a 6-foot guard, averaged 10.1 points per game and hit 73 3-pointers last season, becoming the NCAA Division II-era career record holder for 3s made with 205. He needs 56 more to tie the all-time record of 261 held by Thomas Korf (2011-2015).

Cook, a 6-5 guard, averaged 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and tossed in 36 3-pointers for the Beavers.

“They’ve really grown in leadership roles in on and off-the-court stuff,” said Murken.

Van De Griend is a 6-8 junior forward who averaged 6.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season, and Gichaba, a 6-6 junior forward, who averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per outing.

Murken also expects good contributions from redshirt sophomores Trey Brandt, a 6-1 guard, and Jaden Wysocki, a 6-7 forward, who both saw action last season.

The Beavers also will look to some talented newcomers with plenty of collegiate experience in 6-4 junior guard Ayouba Berthe from Kirkwood Community College, 6-5 junior forward Sam West from Iowa Lakes Community College, 6-7 junior forward Lual Lual from Mesa Community College, 6-2 junior guard Max Groom from Dakota College at Bottineau, and 5-9 graduate student guard Daryl Rice Jr from Maryville College, Tennessee.

“A lot of experience,” said Murken of the new additions. “In college basketball right now, it’s important to get old and stay old.”

Groom leads the way in terms of on-court honors as he was an NJCAA All-American, while Lual and Berthe both were NJCAA All-Region selections. As for Groom, he is the all-time leading scorer for the Lumberjacks (1,035 points), and he and Rice Jr both are All-Conference performers.

Now, as Murken says, it’s all about putting it together on the court as a team against an opponent.

“It’s time to get them out there and show what they can do for real under the lights on Friday and Saturday,” said coach Murken. “East Central returns a lot, Southeastern has won a lot in the Great America Conference but they’ve kind of turned their roster over. But you’ve got to go find out what you’ve got more so than what they’ve got that opening weekend. But we’re excited to be tested, and to find that out in the Conference Challenge is a great time to see what you’ve got against other regional opponents and set yourself up for a good year.”