MEN'S BASKETBALL: St. Cloud shoots past Minnesota West

ST. CLOUD — The Minnesota West men’s basketball team received 40 points from its bench during a 92-85 loss in a Minnesota College Athletic Conference Southern Division game at St. Cloud on Saturday.

The Bluejays outscored the Cyclones 40-16 in bench scoring, but St. Cloud overcame Minnesota West with accurate shooting from 3-point range.

The Cyclones made 48 percent (12 of 25) of its 3-point attempts, while the Bluejays made 26 percent (6 of 23) from long-distance.

Cody Harris came of the Minnesota West bench to score a team-high 18 points. Reserve Mitch Olson added 13 more, while starters Orie Brown and Mitch Hopkins had 15 and 10 points, respectively.

The Bluejays compiled a 43-35 edge in rebounding as Tyler Aquallo pulled down nine boards for Minnesota West. Luke Roddy threw in seven assists and three steals.

Three St. Cloud starters scored in double digits. Jared Noonan led all scorers with 26 points, while Riley West had 22 points and nine assists and Jett Leaf added 19 points and eight rebounds. Alex Matchinsky chipped in 16 points off the Cyclones’ bench.

The Bluejays are 12-12 overall and 5-7 versus the MCAC Southern Division.

No women’s basketball game was played because St. Cloud does not have enough players to field a team. The forfeited victory gives the Lady Jays a record of 18-6 overall and 9-2 against the MCAC Southern Division.

The Minnesota West women’s and men’s basketball teams are scheduled to play a league doubleheader at Rochester at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Minnesota West 44 41 — 85

St. Cloud 46 46 — 92

Tags: minnesota west sports, sports, basketball