GOLDEN — For Metro State, it’s not how you start a game but how you finish.
Which is why the 13th-ranked Roadrunners weren’t about to panic when facing a 10-point deficit nine minutes into Sunday’s Central Region semifinal game of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
“Not at all,” junior guard Demetrius Moore said. “We weren’t playing our game, and we just had to step up.”
The second-seeded Roadrunners did just that, closing the first half to within five points and pulling away in the second half for a 76-64 victory over No. 6 St. Cloud State (Minn.) State to advance to Tuesday night’s final at Lockridge Arena at the Colorado School of Mines.
It’s Metro State’s first trip to a regional final since 2005.
“They gave us problems in the first half and we couldn’t guard them,” Metro State coach Derrick Clark said. “But we stayed the course and we stayed together.”
In a tale of two halves, Metro State (24-6) outscored the Huskies 47-30, shooting 54.2 percent from the floor after hitting 40 percent in the first half. St. Cloud State (20-9) went from 57.7 percent to 34.5 from half to half.
“We changed the way we guarded them. … We were too aggressive early,” Clark said. “I was also hoping fatigue would be a factor, and I think it was.”
St. Cloud State played without sophomore center Tim Bergstraser. Its second-leading scorer and top rebounder injured a knee after scoring 22 points in Saturday’s quarterfinal win over Bemidji State.
That helped open things up for Jonathan Morse, Metro State’s 6-foot-8 interior player. Morse, a Fairview High School graduate, scored 13 of his 19 points and grabbed eight of his 12 rebounds in the second half.
He along with Miller were the big differences for the Roadrunners. Miller scored a career-high 24 points.
“It was a perfect time to get it,” Miller said of topping his pervious high of 22. “I had to be a spark for our team.”
The win sends Metro State into Tuesday’s championship game against top-ranked Colorado Mines, which owns a 2-0 record against the Roadrunners this season.
ST. CLOUD STATE (20-9)Rothstein 6-14 2-2 15, Putz 3-10 0-0 9, Jensen 3-9 1-2 8, Fort 3-4 2-6 8, Hawkins 3-5 0-0 7, Niehaus 3-6 0-0 7, Rostampour 2-2 0-0 5, Brown 2-3 1-1 5, Brooks 0-2 0-0 0, Levandoski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 6-11 64.METRO STATE (24-6)Miller 7-11 7-7 24, Morse 6-10 7-10 19, Evans 3-10 7-12 13, Jefferson 4-10 2-2 12, Kay 2-4 2-2 6, Brotherson 1-4 0-0 2, Porter 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Phenix 0-0 0-0 0, January 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 25-33 76.Halftime — St. Cloud State 34-29. 3-point goals — St. Cloud State 8-20 (Putz 3-8, Niehaus 1-3, Rothstein 1-3, Hawkins 1-2, Jensen 1-3, Rostampour 1-1), Metro State 5-12 (Miller 3-5, Jefferson 2-5, Kay 0-1, Brotherson 0-1). Fouled out — Rostampour. Rebounds — St. Cloud State 23 (Rothstein 5), Metro State 39 (Morse 12). Assists — St. Cloud State 18 (Niehaus 7), Metro State 7 (Evans 4). Total fouls — St. Cloud State 22, Metro State 16. A — 583.
