Submitted Photo MSU senior Jalen Cook (21) looks inside on Saturday, January 11, against Southwest Minnesota State in the Beavers second road trip game over the weekend. Photo by Samantha Davis/Ogden Newspapers.

The Beavers hit the road over the weekend and suffered their first two game losing streak of the season. The losses also affected the rankings for the Minot State University (MSU) mens team.

Southwest Minnesota State 76, MSU Men 73

MARSHALL, Minn. — Caleb Van De Griend notched a double-double with 20 points and 19 rebounds, but the MSU men’s basketball team fell to the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs 76-73 on the road Saturday, January 11.

The Beavers (17-2, 8-2) had three players score in double figures, led by Van De Griend, who put together a double-double with 20 points and 19 rebounds. Jalen Cook tacked on 16 points and four assists and Sam West chipped in as well with 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

The MSU offense was launching it from deep, making 8-of-29 3-point attempts. Jaxon Gunville hit two treys for the Beavers in the contest.

It was a weekend to forget for MSU. After jumping all the way up to 17-0 to begin the season, the Beavers have dropped the last two contests to Sioux Falls and now to Southwest Minnesota.

In another game where the Beavers fell into an early deficit from opening tip-off, head coach Matt Murken saw some good moments for most of the time. However, a slow start did not do them any favors.

“We played very good basketball against one of the best teams in the region for 34 minutes,” said Murken. “Unfortunately, we dug ourselves a big hole early and couldn’t quite overcome that. We have to get back to work and respond to adversity.”

After falling behind 23-7, MSU went on a 12-0 run with 11:33 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from West, to narrow its deficit to 23-19. The Beavers continued to close the gap, cutting the Southwest Minnesota State lead to 41-40 by the end of the first half.

Southwest Minnesota State kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 51-42 advantage before MSU went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Cook’s three, to shrink the deficit to 51-47 with 14:51 to go in the contest.

The Beavers kept their comeback going, but Southwest Minnesota State managed to hold on for the 76-73 win. MSU did well in the paint, recording 24-of-33 points in the lane.

University of Sioux Falls 85, MSU Men 61

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A remarkable 17-game win streak to begin the season came to an end.

The MSU men’s basketball team suffered their first loss to the hands of the Sioux Falls Cougars by a final score of 85-61 on the road Friday, January 10.

Caleb Van De Griend registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

In addition to Van De Griend’s double-double, the Beavers were led by Ayouba Berthe, who recorded 18 points, and by Sam West, who chipped in with six points. It was a rare defensive struggle by the Beavers, as head coach Matt Murken made note of right from the start at tip-off.

“I need to put our guys in better situations to be successful,” said Murken. “We have to come out ready to defend from the opening tip and I didn’t have us ready to do that tonight. USF played a great game and defended their home court with passion.”

The loss ended the Beavers 17-game winning streak, which ties the most consecutive games won in team history (1971-72 season).

After falling behind 29-17, MSU went on a 7-0 run with 7:00 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Van De Griend, to narrow its deficit to 29-24. The Beavers deficit remained the same as they entered halftime trailing 36-31.

Sioux Falls kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 40-33 advantage before MSU went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Jalen Cook’s layup, to shrink the deficit to 40-38 with 16:02 to go in the contest.

Sioux Falls responded and outscored the Beavers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 85-61. MSU made the most of four offensive rebounds to tack on eight second chance points out of 30 total in the period.