Mav Men cruise to easy victory over United Tribes
Win 92-55; improve to 8-4
Caleb Williams
MINNEAPOLIS (Dec. 29, 2009) -- 17 points by Freddie Burton (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) led Minneapolis Community and Technical College as they cruised to a 92 to 55 victory over the United Tribes Technical College men's basketball team tonight in Bowman Hall. The game was part of the MCTC New Year's Classic basketball tournament.
The Mavericks (8-4), snapped a three-game skid with the win, had big games from Burton, Kenny Olafeso (So., St. Paul, Minn.), Peter Olafeso (So., St. Paul, Minn.), Jamar Franks (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.) and DeShawn Thurmond, all of whom scored in double figures for the Mavs.
The Thunderbirds (1-5), a Division II team from Bismark, N.D., was led by Andrew Russell (So., Lame Deer, Mont.), who had 17 points. A.J. Strange Owl and Javier Bustos (So., Browning, Mont.) had 12 and 11 points respectively.
Both teams were well-matched in the first half, but MCTC opened up an 11-point lead at the half. In the second half, MCTC offense began to click and the Mavs hit five three point shots in the second.
MCTC capitalized on a 31 Thunderbird mistakes, scoring 30 points off turnovers.
With just over seven minutes to go sloppy play by the Thunderbirds let to a huge dunk by Kelly, Jr. On the ensuing possession, the Mavericks forced another turnover allowing Burton to score an easy layup.
With just under 5 minutes to play, the Mavs reached a 30-point spread and threatned to go 40 points ahead late, but were held to a 37-point spead at the end of the game.
Lead at 30 with just under 5 to play. Lead at 32 at 4:30.
Point totals for the Mavericks were: Burton: 17; K. Olafeso 16; Franks and P. Olafeso 12; Thurmond 10; Michael Welsh 6; Kelly, Jr. 5; A.J. Whitehead 4; Marshawn Johnson and Josh Spriggs 3; Omar Omar and Konz 2.
Both team return to action tomorrow when United Tribes faces Rochester at 2 p.m. and the Mavericks face Mesabi Range at 6 p.m.
Game Boxscore -- Men's Basketball
Minneapolis Mavericks vs. United Tribes Thunderbirds
12/29/09 Time: 6:00 p.m. Site: MCTC Gymansium
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | Total | |
| United Tribes | 29 | 26 | 55 |
| Minneapolis | 40 | 52 | 92 |
Top Three Point Scorers:
- 17 pts., Freddie Burton, MCTC
- 17 pts., Andrew Russell, UTTC
- 16 pts., Kenny Olafeso, MCTC
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