FARGO, N.D.--Minnesota State-Mankato's Jamel Staten hit a pair of free throws with two seconds to play and followed with a steal of North Dakota State's desperation pass to close out a 73-70 win for the nationally ranked Mavericks in men's college basketball Friday, Dec. 10, before a crowd of 2,075 at the Bison Sports Arena.

North Dakota State pulled within 71-70 when Bison guard Phil Hahn hit his only field goal of the night -- a 3-pointer from the left angle.  After a missed Andy Moeller jumper, North Dakota State was playing for the last shot when center David Erbes turned over the ball under pressure from 6-8 Maverick center Chris Whitfield.

Staten hit consecutive free throws and stole the end line pass from Bison reserve Ryan Lieser, an outfielder on the North Dakota State baseball team, who entered the game after a Bison timeout.

Staten finished with a game-high 20 points to help Minnesota State-Mankato, ranked sixth in the latest Division II coaches poll, remain unbeaten with its 10th straight win.  The Mavericks snapped North Dakota State's three-game winning streak.

Down 38-25 at halftime and trailing by as many as 11 points on four occasions in the first six minutes of the second half, North Dakota State (3-4) came back to tie the game at 47 on Adam Dobmeier's 3-pointer with 11:40 to play.  It was the first Bison make from behind the arc after NDSU missed its first eight attempts.

After NDSU tied the game at 48 on a Myron Green free throw, Dobmeier followed with another trey at the 10:11 mark to put the Bison ahead at 51-48.

North Dakota State took the lead one last time with 7:26 to play when Matt Gerber beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer from the left corner. NDSU was up 56-54.

Whitfield had eight points and four rebounds in the second half alone to help the Mavericks keep NDSU at bay.  He finished with six boards and had a game-high four blocks.

North Dakota State was strong inside all evening with several crisp passes and strong cuts to the hoop. 

Erbes, the 6-foot-5 starting center, paced North Dakota State with a career-high 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  It was his fourth career double-double with NDSU and the first by a Bison player this season.

Dobmeier finished with 15 points, Andy Kelchen had 14, and Green finished with 11.

The Bison outshot the Mavericks by a 46.4 to 39.3 percent margin and also outrebounded the taller Mavs, 44-33.

North Dakota State is scheduled to close out its three-game home stand on Wednesday, Dec. 15, against Minnesota-Duluth.  Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Bison Sports Arena.