Late run sparks Minot State over Mines

Minot State forward Kenneth McCoy

Minot State University went on an 11-0 run, started by a 3-pointer by Mister Carney (G, Sr., Tulsa, Okla.) late in the second half to finally put away South Dakota Mines 85-74 in Dakota Athletic Conference men’s basketball Friday at the MSU Dome.

The No. 16 ranked Beavers (4-2 DAC, 15-5 overall) held a slim 68-67 lead when MSU’s Nick Turner (G, Jr., Los Angeles) found Carney at the top of the key for a 3 with 3:54 to play. Minot added to the run with two straight offensive rebound put backs by Shaun Johnson (F, Sr., East Orange, N.J.) and pushed the lead to 79-67.

A key sequence for MSU in the second half came on play before the Carney 3 as Bojan Janjic (G, Jr., Kikinda, Serbia)scored on an offensive rebound that gave the Beavers a 68-65 lead. Janjic’s hoop came after a frantic play where MSU kept the ball alive multiple times. The Beavers were outrebounded 17-8 by Mines on the offensive glass, but had the majority of their offensive boards late.

“We stayed a float there and didn’t score, but got going again, hit some 3s and got going on the glass,” said MSU head coach Mike Hultz. “When we got the lead, they had to honor us on the 3 and now our athleticism could take control of the game.”

Mines (3-3, 11-9) opened the game with a 10-2 run and hung around all game. The Beavers built five-eight point leads throughout, but couldn’t put the Hardrockers away.

“This is a good team and we aren’t going to blow out good teams,” Hultz said. “That’s going to be the nature of the DAC this year.”

MSU’s Turner had the hot hand for the Beavers early scoring 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. But it was steady play by Janjic, Johnson and Carney late that helped the Beavers build and maintain the late lead. Janjic, who missed the past two games due to injury, hit for 11 points, knocking down 3 of 5 3-pointers,  Johnson was limited  to six points, but had eight rebounds and five blocks and Carney scored seven points and added two rebounds and two assists.

“I was happy with a lot of guys tonight,” Hultz said.

Mines was led by Kyle Turpin’s 20 points, while AJ Trennepohl added 16 points and Nathan Jacobson scored 11.

MSU’s balance included nine points from Nathaniel Packineau (G, Jr., Parshall, N.D.), eight from Jason West (G, Jr., Lompoc, Calif.), seven from Marcus Balinton (F, Jr., San Francisco) and five from Neil Packineau (G, Jr., Parshall, N.D.).