Minnesota State Moorhead dedicated its performance to Tari Driscoll - the mother of junior guard Jake Driscoll - Friday at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
The inspiration showed when the Dragons hit the court.
MSUM scored 49 points in the first half and cruised to a 93-72 victory against Minnesota-Duluth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball.
"I had a lot of feeling in there and a lot of emotion going into the game," said Jake Driscoll, who scored 15 points. "It was special to have all that support. The crowd was awesome."
Prior to the game, Jake presented his mother with a signed team photograph (featuring both the men's and women's teams) and an embroidered Dragons blanket. Tari Driscoll was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The presentation was part of the "Go Pink with the Dragons," cancer awareness night.
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"With Jake's mom going through that, it was nice to get a win for him and his family and his mom," said Dragons junior guard Charlie Chapman, who had 18 points. "To win by this margin is nice for their family and our team."
MSUM (12-9, 9-8 NSIC) snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory. The 93 points were the second most the Dragons scored in a game this season and the most at home.
"It was a big day for Jake," MSUM head coach Chad Walthall said. "It was a big day for the team because certainly we wanted to play well for all sorts of reasons."
The Dragons erupted for 35 points in the game's first 12 minutes. MSUM used a flurry of 10 straight points to build an 18-point lead. Sophomore center Alex Novak capped that string with an inside basket that staked the Dragons to a
35-17 lead with 8 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the first half. Chapman scored 12 of those 35 points, making four 3-pointers.
"It felt good early so I thought I may as well keep shooting," Chapman said. "It was going well tonight."
MSUM built a 49-32 halftime lead behind strong play from its backcourt. Tarell Clark (13 points), Jake Driscoll (8) and Chapman combined for 33 points in the first 20 minutes. Clark finished with a game-high 22 points.
"When our guards hit shots like that, it makes us pretty hard to guard," Walthall said. "I thought we shared the ball really well tonight. I thought we played with a great deal of poise."
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The Dragons rode that stellar first half to victory. They never let their lead dip into single digits in the second half.
MSUM finished with a season-high 21 assists.
"All the guys had a lot of energy tonight to start the game," Jake Driscoll said. "We played really well together."
UM-DULUTH (8-13, 6-11 NSIC): Crawford 1-4 2-2 4, Hottenstine 3-8 1-2 8, Rodriguez 2-6 2-2 6, Rasmussen 5-12 4-6 15, Ervin 5-10 7-9 17, McDonald 2-6 0-0 6, Homere 3-6 1-2 9, Ewing 0-1 0-0 0, Paschka 0-0 0-0 0, Kornbaum 1-5 2-2 4, Powers 1-1 1-1 3. Totals 23-59 20-26 72.
MSUM (12-9, 9-8): Chapman 6-12 0-0 18, Ja. Driscoll 5-7 2-2 15, Clark 9-14 4-9 22, Novak 5-7 1-3 11, Williamson 5-11 3-3 13, Jo. Driscoll 0-0 0-0 0, VanHavermaet 0-1 0-0 0, Thompson 1-1 1-2 3, Hamilton 2-7 1-2 7, Reed 1-1 2-2 4, Olson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 14-23 93.
Half: MSUM 49, UMD 32. 3-point goals: UMD 6-21 (Crawford 0-1, Hottenstine 1-4, Rodriguez 0-1, Rasmussen 1-5, McDonald 2-5, Homere 2-4, Ewing 0-1), MSUM 11-21 (Chapman 6-9, Ja. Driscoll 3-5, VanHavermaet 0-1, Hamilton 2-6). Totals fouls: UMD 20, MSUM 19. Fouled out: Rasmussen. Rebounds: UMD 25 (Kornbaum 7), MSUM 40 (Novak 15). Assists: UMD 10 (Rasmussen 4), MSUM 21 (Hamilton 6). Steals: UMD 4 (four players with 1), MSUM 2 (Chapman, Williamson). Turnovers: UMD 9 (Crawford 4), MSUM 10 (Clark 3, Williamson 3).
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