Mavericks pull away late to defeat CSP
Jan. 2—MANKATO — Last season, Brady Williams didn't shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but he made almost half of his attempts.
This season, he was making less than 20% of his shots from distance, and on Sunday, his struggles were continuing, missing all three of his first-half attempts, including one that was a foot wide left, causing him to shake his head.
"It was like what am I doing?" Williams said. "But my teammates kept telling that it was a good shot, keep shooting."
When his first 3-pointer of the second half swished, the shoulders popped up and the confidence seemed to come back.
"It's good to see one go in, even if it's a layup," he said. "My teammates trusted me, and I just have to stay positive."
Quincy Anderson scored 30 points as Minnesota State pulled away late to defeat Concordia-St. Paul 92-82 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball game Sunday at Bresnan Arena.
The Mavericks were shorthanded, playing without starting guard Malik Willingham and backup post Ryland Holt, both of whom are dealing with medical issues.
"I think that took some of the wind out of our sails today," Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler said. "We withstood a ho-shooting Concordia team, and we did what we needed to do. I thought we finished the first half really well, then we did that same thing in the second half."
Concordia made five of its first seven shots and 10 of the first 16, leading 28-19 midway through the first half.
Anderson kept the Mavericks in the game, scoring 12 points early, and Harrison Braudis made consecutive 3-pointers as the Mavericks pulled within 35-30 with six minutes to play in the first half.
Anderson scored on a pair of drives, bringing his first-half total to 19 points, as Minnesota State used an eight-point run to take a 43-42 lead at halftime, despite Concordia's seventh 3-pointer of the half just before the buzzer.
The game was tied at 57 with 12 minutes to play when the Mavericks started to pull away. Williams made four 3-pointers in the second half, helping the Mavericks go up 15 with 3 minutes to go.
"This game was huge for us," Williams said. "Concordia was shooting lights out in the first half, and we didn't shoot it as well. But we stayed with it."
Anderson was 10 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, for his second 30-point game of the season. Williams ended up with 16 points, while Kelby Kramer had 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Kyreese Willingham scored 13 points.
"We're a different team when Brady is shooting well," Margenthaler said. Noah Hart made one (3-pointer), too, and that's big. What a good first career start for Kyreese. We need those guys to knock down shots."
The Mavericks shot 53.2%, including 12 of 20 from 3-point range. Braudis had five of Minnesota State's 17 assists.
The Mavericks (10-4, 4-4 in Northern Sun) are on the road next week, starting Friday at Minnesota-Duluth.
Follow Chad Courrier on Twitter @ChadCourrier.
