No. 2 Minnesota State controlled the pace throughout Tuesday evening at the Sanford Pentagon as the Mavericks bested No. 9 Minnesota Duluth 97-77 to win the NSIC Tournament Championship.
With the win, MSU improves to 29-2. With the loss, UMD drops to 25-6. This marks the third NSIC tournament championship win in team history (2013 and 2014).
Five minutes into the game the Mavericks built a 12-7 lead, which included a 3-of-6 showing from three point range. The game remained within a pair of scores with 11:26 to go as the Mavericks led 21-17. MSU then put together an 11-run, including six points from Brady Williams (6'7''-F), to go up by 15 at 32-17 with 8:24 to go in the game.
UMD answered MSU's 11-0 run with an 8-0 run of its own to get back within seven points 32-25 with 6:31 remaining in the half. MSU and UMD nearly matched each other through the 6:13 on the half as the Mavericks carried a 47-41 lead into halftime.
Seven Mavericks reached the scoring column in the first half, including Elijah Hazekamp (6'5''-G) and Malik Willingham (6'3''-G) who each notched 10 points. Justin Eagins added nine points as well. As a unit, MSU shot 50.0% from the field in the opening stanza, while also enjoying an 18-13 advantage in rebounds.
Drew Blair (6'5''-G) led the Bulldog offense in the first half with 18 points, while Jack Middleton (6'5''-G) tallied five points. As a team, UMD shot 51.7% from the field in the first half, including a 5-of-11 (.455) showing from three point range.
UMD worked its way back to within one point of the Mavericks at 55-54 with 15:42 to go in the second half. MSU responded with a 16-7 run over the next 5:26 to reestablish its double-digit lead at 71-61 with 9:50 to go. Six different Mavericks recorded a basket during the stretch.
The Mavericks did not not look back the rest of the way as they led by as many as 25 points, en route to the 97-77 win.
Five Mavericks scored at least 11 points, including Malik Willingham who led the team with 21 points, while Eagins tallied 20 points and five assists. Kyreese Willingham tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, while Hazekamp tallied 12 points. Brady Williams notched 11 points off the bench, while Dylan Peeters recorded a team-leading nine rebounds.
As a team, MSU shot 52.9% from the field, including an 11-of-30 (.367) showing from downtown. The Mavericks scored 19 of their points off of 13 UMD turnovers and the MSU bench outscored the UMD bench 22-13.
Blair led UMD with 27 points and five rebounds, while Middleton tallied 10 points.
As a team, UMD shot 49.2% from the field, including a 9-of-18 (.500) performance from three point range.
Malik Willingham received NSIC Tournament MVP honors as he averaged 23.0 points and 4.3 rebounds a game while shooting 43.9% from the field in three games. He is the fourth Maverick in team history to claim conference tournament MVP honors joining Luke Anderson (2006 NCC), Jarvis Williams (2013 NSIC) and Zach Monaghan (2014 NSIC).
Kyreese Willingham and Justin Eagins also claimed NSIC All-Tournament Team honors. Kyreese Willingham posted 18.3 points and 5.0 rebounds a game, while Eagins averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists a game.

Courtesy of northernsun.org

NSIC Final: Minnesota State - Minnesota Duluth 97-77

NSIC Semifinals:
Minnesota State - Southwest Minnesota State 68-67
Minnesota Duluth - Winona State 90-76

NSIC Quarterfinals:
Minnesota State - Sioux Falls 78-64
Minnesota Duluth - Augustana 88-74
MSU Moorhead - Winona State 65-69
Minot State - Southwest Minnesota State 68-85

NSIC 1/8 Finals:
Sioux Falls - Bemidji State 68-66
Augustana - Wayne State 75-62
Winona State - Northern State 95-65
Southwest Minnesota State - St. Cloud State 74-63

All-Tournament MVP: Malik Willingham (6'3''-G) of MSU
Player of the Year: Malik Willingham (6'3''-G) of MSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Charlie Katona (6'6''-F) of UMD
Newcomer of the Year: Jamir Price (6'3''-G) of MSUM
Coach of the Year: Matt Margenthaler of MSU

All-NSIC First Team 2024

Fink

Sutherland

Blair

Katona

Willingham

Willingham

First Team
Isaac Fink (6'4''-G) of Augustana
John Sutherland (6'7''-F) of Bemidji St.
Drew Blair (6'5''-G) of UMD
Charlie Katona (6'6''-F) of UMD
Malik Willingham (6'3''-G) of MSU
Kyreese Willingham (6'5''-G) of MSU
Jamir Price (6'3''-G) of MSUM
Jacob Beeninga (6'0''-PG) of MSUM
Khari Broadway (6'1''-G) of Minot St.
Jacksen Moni (6'10''-F) of Northern St.
Jake Phipps (6'9''-C-2000) of SMSU
Connor Dillon (6'2''-G) of Winona St.

All-NSIC Second Team 2024

Graves

Albrecht

Sagna

Eagins

Peeters

Zimmer

Second Team
Jadan Graves (6'2''-G) of Augustana
Dalton Albrecht (6'7''-F) of Bemidji St.
Blaize Sagna (6'3''-G) of UMC
Justin Eagins (6'3''-G-2000) of MSU
Dylan Peeters (6'8''-F) of MSU
Dane Zimmer (6'7''-F) of MSUM
Ja'Kair Sanchez (6'4''-G) of MSUM
Connor Hollenbeck (6'7''-F) of Minot St.
Josh Dilling (6'4''-G-2001) of Northern St.
Jack Thompson (6'2''-G) of Sioux Falls
Cliff Cofield of SMSU
Trey Deveaux (6'5''-F) of WSC

NSIC All-Tournament Team 2024

Willingham

Eagins

Willingham

Blair

Katona

All-Tournament Team
Malik Willingham (6'3''-G) of MSU
Justin Eagins (6'3''-G-2000) of MSU
Kyreese Willingham (6'5''-G) of MSU
Drew Blair (6'5''-G) of UMD
Charlie Katona (6'6''-F) of UMD