“This was a game of runs,” said Head Coach Shawn Sorenson.  “They started strong and had an early lead as we struggled with our shooting.  Then our defense helped give us some momentum and the shots started to fall as we took the lead late in the first half.  We were able to hold the lead most of the second half but it was close the whole way and their offensive rebounds kept them in it.” 

Alend Alemadi scored 23 points, pulled down 8 rebounds and dished out 2 assists to lead the Spartans.  Two players, Renell Edwards and Alex Hendricks came off the bench to add 16 points and 15 points, respectively.  Edwards also had 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

“We were a bit rusty but we made the plays we needed to and got an important win to start the second half of our season,” added Sorenson.  “Itasca is a very tough opponent and will be another good test for our team.”

M State shot 49.1% (28-57) from the field and connected on 35.7% (10-28) of their 3’s.  Mesabi shot 41.7% (30-72) for the game and 25.9% (7-27) on 3-pointers.

Mesabi Range had four players in double figures, led by 17 from Dejsani Beamon and 16 from Mayan White.  William Howard and Mamoudou Cisse finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.  Jaylen Williams led the rebounding effort with 10.

St. Cloud Tech beat Itasca 97-86 in the other game.