Central Lakes 94, M State 79

The first night of the Central Lakes College Winter Basketball Classic turned out to be a tough night for Minnesota State as Central Lakes College defeated the Spartans by a score of 94 – 79.  The first half proved to be the difference as the Raiders got off to an amazing start by quickly building a 20 point lead within the first seven minutes of the game.  Minnesota State attempted to stop the run with a series of timeouts and substitutions, but the Central Lakes lead grew to as large as 44 to 15 with seven minutes to play in the half.  The Spartans managed to reduce the large lead to 20 points at the half with some timely scoring from Akok Aguer.

The second half proved to be much more competitive, but the lead was too large for the Spartans to pull any closer than 13 points with 5 minutes to play.  The Spartans were able to reduce the large lead due to Brett Engelmeyer’s six three pointers which happened to lead all Spartan scorers with 18 points.  Five of Engelmeyer’s three-point baskets came in the second half.

Engelmeyer lead the way in scoring with 18 while Yonis Mohamud was closely behind with 17 points on the evening.  Langston Binns led the Raiders in scoring with 21 points.  The Spartans have lost their last 5 of 6 games as they hope to head into winter break with a winning record with their second game tomorrow night versus a 9-2 Rainy River team for a 12 pm tipoff in day 2 of the Central Lakes College Winter Classic.

M State 81, Rainy River 69
The Minnesota State men’s basketball team came out with something to prove after a disappointing start to the Central Lakes College Winter Basketball Classic.  The Spartans were beaten soundly on day one, but day two proved to be different as the Spartans picked up one of their biggest wins of the season to date by defeating Minnesota North-Rainy River by the score of 81 to 69.

The Spartans came out shooting well to start the game by building a quick 9-2 lead with three pointers from Yonis Mohamud, Akok Aguer, and Foday Sheriff.  The three pointers continued to fall for the Spartans as they shot an impressive 60% as team for the entire first half.   Sheriff was a perfect three for three from three in the first half to pace all the Spartan scorers with 11 first half points.  Sheriff was accompanied by Aguer and Mikele Kambalo with 10 and 9, respectively.  The trio’s 30 points helped the Spartans record 44 points to Rainy River’s 32.

The second half proved to be much closer for the Spartan’s team as the 9-2 Voyageurs looked to keep their five-game winning streak going.  However, the Spartans seemed to have an answer the entire second half every time Rainy River made a run to reduce the lead.  Kambalo made a critical three point shot with two minutes to play while clinging to a narrow four point lead.  This basket pushed the lead to 7 and allowed for the Spartans to eventually pull away for the 81 to 69 victory.

Foday Sheriff continues to shine in the early part of the basketball season by leading all players with 23 points and 8 rebounds.  Akok Aguer provided M-State with a double-double by recording 17 points and 10 rebounds.  Yonis Mohamud continued to shoot the basketball quite well from the perimeter by scoring 18 points.  Mikele Kambolo rounded out the double digit scoring by netting 16 points while also recording 4 assists and 4 steals.

The victory allows Minnesota State to improve its overall record to 6-5 while Minnesota State-Rainy River fell to 9-3.  The Spartans will take the floor once again at home on December 30 and December 31 while hosting their annual Spartan Classic.