MANKATO — Shooters gotta keep shooting.
You hear it all the time, mostly by shooters that have missed a few.
But on Saturday, Malik Willingham, Justin Eagins, Elijah Hazekamp and Kyreese Willingham kept shooting. And Dylan Peeters kept hustling.
“We were getting good looks,” Eagins said. “The shooters were working on their shots all week in practice. We’re never going to lose confidence because we miss a couple shots.”
The Mavericks made 9 3-pointers in the second half and defeated pesky Arkansas Tech 75-68 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA II Central Region men’s basketball tournament Saturday at Bresnan Arena. It was the Mavericks’ first NCAA victory since 2018.
“I’ve said it before; this isn’t our most talented team, but it’s the most selfless team,” Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler said. “These guys play together, and they like each other.
“With the transfers, we had to build chemistry early in the season. They all came here to win, and that’s what’s happening.”
Both teams struggled to score in the first half. The Wonder Boys used a 7-0 run to gain the lead at 17-12, but the Mavericks answered as Malik Willingham had a basket and assist for Dylan Peeters, whose dunk tied the game.
“NCAA experience is big,” said Peeters, who played in two national tournaments while he was at Truman State. “It’s win or go home. I just had to keep giving my teammates confidence.”
Arkansas Tech again built a five-point lead later in the half, but the Mavericks were able to pick up the pace, thanks to Peeters’ hustle. He had 10 points in the final five minutes, 14 in the half, and along with 3-pointers by Hazekamp and Kyreese Willingham, the Mavericks were able to lead 36-35 at halftime.
“Even though it was kind of a mucky half, I still liked the pace,” Margenthaler said. “Arkansas Tech didn’t want to play that fast, and we were getting quality looks that just didn’t go in.”
Minnesota State made only 5 of its first 19 shots but 10 of the last 12 in the half.
Malik Willingham, Eagins and Hazekamp hit 3-pointers as the Mavericks jumped ahead 45-37 early in the second half, igniting the crowd of 4,012. The lead grew to 67-53 on Malik Willingham’s 3-pointer with 9 minutes to play, but the Wonder Boys scored nine straight to close the gap.
The Mavericks finally secured the team-record-tying 30th victory by making six free throws in the final 1:38.
“All year, we’ve been a second-half team,” Peeters said. “I knew going into halftime that we were fine. The shots were going to fall.”
Peeters and Eagins both scored 18 points, and Malik Willingham and Kyreese Willingham both scored 15 points. Hazekamp had eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Mavericks ended up making 13 of 25 from 3-point range, with Kyreese Willingham going 4 of 4.
Minnesota State (30-2) will play Minnesota State-Moorhead in the region semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Bresnan Arena.
Minnesota State Moorhead 73, Pittsburg State 55: JaMir Price and Dane Zimmer each scored 15 points as fourth-seeded Minnesota State Moorhead won its region quarterfinal game.
Logan Kinsey scored 13 points, and LaKair Sanchez had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Deshaun English II led Pitt State with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
The Dragons will play Minnesota State in the region semifinals Sunday.
Minnesota Duluth 59, Fort Hays State 58: Matt Thompson made a layup at the buzzer as Minnesota Duluth defeated Fort Hays State 59-58 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA II Central Region tournament.
Fort Hays missed the first of a one-and-one free throw, which Minnesota Duluth, the No. 3 seed, rebounded and went the length of the court with Thompson driving from the wing to score his second basket of the game.
Drew Blair and Charlie Katona each scored 13 points, and Austin Andrews added 10 points.
Elijah Nnanabu led Fort Hays State with 19 points, and Kaleb Hammeke scored 13 points.
Neither team shot very well from the perimeter. Fort Hays State was 2 of 14, while the Bulldogs were 2 of 15.
Minnesota Duluth (26-6) plays Northwest Missouri State in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Northwest Missouri State 73, Southwest Minnesota State 43: Northwest Missouri State made 14 of 26 3-pointers and overwhelmed Southwest Minnesota State in the Central Region quarterfinals.
The Bearcats (28-4) made 8 of 13 shots from 3-point range to lead 37-22 at halftime.
Daniel Abreu led the second-seeded Bearcats with 17 points, and Mitch Mascari scored 16, making four 3-pointers. Wes Dreamer hit three 3-pointers and ended up with 15 points.
Southwest Minnesota State, which defeated Northwest Missouri State 63-56 on Nov. 11, made only 1 of 12 from 3-point range. Jake Phipps scored 13 points to lead the Mustangs.
Please follow Chad Courrier on X @ChadCourrier.