Kari Gibb/MDN MSU Men’s Basketball head coach Matt Murken, his staff and the team are headed into the NSIC Tournament Championship Game today, March 4, at 7 p.m.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time in program history, the Minot State University (MSU) men’s basketball team is headed to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Championship game!

Caleb Van De Griend notched a double-double with 24 points and 18 rebounds to help the Beavers take down the Minnesota State Mavericks 72-70 at the Sanford Pentagon on Monday.

In addition to Van De Griend’s strong showing, the Beavers (26-8) were led by Ayouba Berthe, who had 11 points and four assists and by Sam West, who added 14 points and seven rebounds.

MSU did an excellent job taking care of the basketball, dishing out 12 assists while turning the ball over 6 times. Berthe’s four assists led the distribution list for the Beavers.

MSU did a great job disrupting Minnesota State shots in the contest, coming away with seven blocks. Van De Griend’s three rejections led the way individually for the Beavers.

The Beavers will face Minnesota State-Moorhead today at 7:00 p.m. in the NSIC Championship, which will be their first ever appearance in the championship game.

After jumping out to a 28-26 advantage, MSU went on a 6-0 run with 5:42 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Berthe, to increase its lead to 34-26. The Beavers then lost some of that lead but still entered halftime with a 38-36 advantage. MSU did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 38 points close to the basket.

Minnesota State proceeded to take a 42-41 lead before MSU went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Jaxon Gunville’s ‘three,’ to seize a 48-42 lead with 16:02 to go in the contest. The Mavericks narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Beavers still held on for the 72-70 win.

MSU shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting five shots from deep to score 15 of its 34 points.

If MSU wins the conference championship game tomorrow, they will get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Their last trip to nationals took place at Branson, Missouri in March 2008 when the team was still in NAIA Division II.

If they fall short, they will turn their attention to the NCAA Selection Show that will take place on Sunday at 10:00 p.m. (CT) for a possible at-large bid. The show can be found on NCAA.com for details regarding NCAA Tournament information like seeding, location, opponents, start time, and more.