MANKATO — There’s something about crunch time that brings out the best in Minnesota State senior guard Malik Willingham.
On Saturday night, before the third-largest crowd (4,155) in Bresnan Arena history, Willingham watched his team battle to a 33-33 halftime deadlock from the bench after picking up two early fouls.
Willingham then sparked a second-half surge that saw No. 5-ranked Minnesota State build a 57-41 advantage on Malcom Jones’ layup with 11:13 to go. However, No. 3 Minnesota State-Moorhead used a 19-4 run to trim the margin to 61-60, setting up Willingham’s final heroics in a thrilling 81-78 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.
“I had tremendous coached and teammates tell me not to worry about the first half,” said Willingham, who scored 21 second-half points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. “You just have to trust the process and keep going. It’s a game of runs, and it was just great to see all of my teammates make big-time plays. We’re not a one- or two-person team, it’s a one-through-13 team.
“We were able to weather the storm in front of an amazing crowd tonight. This was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen here and it was exciting to get the win. … They’re a top team in the country, and we fought with them in a physical game.”
Junior guard Ja’Kair Sanchez fired in a trio of 3-pointers and tallied a driving hoop as the Dragons (17-3, 11-3 in NSIC) climbed back into the high-intensity contest. Sanchez ended up with a game-high 28 points on an 11 of 20 shooting performance. Jacob Beeninga chipped in 19 points for the Dragons, who also received 13 and 11 points, respectively, from Logan Kinsley and Dane Zimmer.
Minnesota State (19-1, 13-1) got a three-point play — off an 8-foot runner — from Willingham before the Dragons went ahead 74-72 on Sanchez’s 12-foot jumper with 1:18 remaining. Willingham then launched a high-arching right-side 3-pointer in front of two free throws by guard Elijah Hazekamp, making it 77-74 with 13.8 seconds left.
Both teams spent the waning seconds at the foul line before Willigham forced a turnover to seal things.
“I thought we started the game really tight, it just wasn’t us,” Mavericks’ coach Matt Margenthaler said. “We weren’t free-flowing and loose. The moment was big and we kind of played like that. When you go into halftime tied at 33, and the Willingham boys have zero points and four fouls combined, you feel pretty good. Justin Eagins stepped up and gave us a great first half.
“We got into a nice rhythm to start the second half, and that was the difference in the game. We fell asleep for about five minutes, but we made enough plays in an unbelievable environment. This place was as electric tonight as it has been the last 18 years. These kids deserve that, and (the crowd was) the sixth man tonight.”
Eagins, a 6-foot-3 junior transfer from Wayne State, dropped through 18 first-half points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Eagins finished with 23 points and five rebounds.
Senior forward Dylan Petters tallied 11 points and six boards, while Hazekamp totaled 11 points and six caroms.
“I came here for games like this to be in the big moment and compete for championships,” Eagins said. “The atmosphere was electric, and we fed off that. I know when it’s my time to step up and make the plays that I am capable of. I am going to do whatever we need and I was able to give us that spark and carry the load until we got (the Willinghams) back out there.”
Minnesota State, which has a two-game lead in the Northern Sun, plays Tuesday at Minnesota-Duluth. The Mavericks defeated the Bulldogs 100-96 in overtime on Dec. 19 at Bresnan Arena.