MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State, the sixth-ranked team in Division II and the top seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament, shot 57 percent from the field and defeated No. 5 seed Harding on Sunday in the regional semifinals at the Taylor Center.

The loss ended the season for the Bisons, who finished 22-10 overall, its fifth 20-win season in program history. Minnesota State improved to 28-4 and advanced to meet Northern Sun Conference foe Winona State on Tuesday in the Central Region championship.

Harding stayed close early and trailed only 23-20 after Weston Jameson's layup with 9:07 remaining in the first half. Minnesota State, the NSIC regular season and conference tournament champions, scored the next 12 points and capped the run with a Zach Monaghan 3-pointer with 4:55 left.

Harding cut the lead back to nine twice in the first half but trailed 41-28 at halftime.

The Bisons used a 7-0 run early in the second half to cut the Mavericks' lead to eight, 55-47, with 12:02 left. Minnesota State answered with a 10-2 run of its own and led by at least 16 points the rest of the way.

Freshman Andraz Kavas came off the bench and led Harding with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Zach Roddenberry was the only other Bison in double figures with 10 points.

Assem Marai, Jarvis Williams, and Gage Wooten each had 16 points for Minnesota State.

The Mavericks, the eighth-best rebounding team in Division II, held a 39-20 rebound advantage and outscored Harding 15-2 on second-chance points.

Minnesota State shot 64 percent in the second half and made 23-of-28 free throws in the game. Harding shot only eight free throws and made five.

Harding's bench outscored Minnesota State's reserves 32-20, led by Kavas and eight points and four rebounds from senior Adam Sterrenberg.