The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team took on two identities over the weekend as the Mustangs split a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road basketball games.

Saturday, the Mustangs were ice cold from the field, and their poor shooting cost them in a 68-55 loss to Minnesota State University-Moorhead. The 55 points for the Mustangs were a season low and SMSU also shot a season-low 31.8 percent from the field.

SMSU head coach Brad Bigler said the Mustangs had quite a few open looks, but failed to convert on some close shots.

"What was tough about the game against Moorhead was our inability to finish around the rim and make our layups," he said. "We must have missed 15 to 18 layups and its tough to win a game when you're giving away points like that."

The Mustangs shot just 29.4 percent in the first half and were out-rebounded 21-13. Still, SMSU was only down 28-22 at halftime.

Making it tough inside for the Mustangs was Alex Novak, who had five blocks in the game. Novak and fellow post player Dennis Williamson also played well offensively for the Dragons, scoring 14 and 16 points, respectively.

Bigler said MSUM's big bodies dominated down low on both ends of the court and the Mustangs especially had a problem with limiting the Dragons to one shot.

"Defensively, we struggled at finishing possessions and getting defensive rebounds," he said. "Novak and Williamson were planting themselves in the paint and getting hands on a lot of balls."

SMSU tied the score at 28-28 early in the second half and later took a lead at 34-33, but the Dragons answered with a run of their own and built a 45-38 advantage. They wouldn't look back from there.

Scott Roehl and Andrew Peschong were the only two Mustangs to reach double figures in the game, each scoring 12 points.

Sunday was a different story for the Mustangs against the University of Minnesota-Crookston, as SMSU shot lights out.

The Mustangs shot 51.6 percent (33-0f-64) from the field and 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from three-point range.

The Golden Eagles kept things close in the first half and were only down 37-32 at halftime, but couldn't keep up with the Mustangs in the second half and SMSU won 84-64.

SMSU (8-3, 3-2 NSIC) had four players reach double figures in points. Taylor Huseby led the way with 15 points, while Jordan Miller, Trent Carlson and Roehl each added 11.

Bigler said his team came out with a different intensity in Sunday's game and he was pleased with how his team bounced back after the struggles against Moorhead.

"I thought (Sunday night) we came out with good defensive energy," Bigler said. "We made (Crookston) work for everything. I though we played 35 of the 40 minutes at a high level, other than the last five minutes of the first half. We got back to Mustang basketball."

Crookston dropped to 3-9 overall with the loss and is still winless at 0-6 in conference play.

SMSU will be back on the road next weekend, with trips to Winona State University and Upper Iowa University.

SMSU (55)

Jordan Miller 3 0-0 9, DeAnthony Zanders 3 0-0 6, Andrew Peschong 4 3-4 12, Taylor Huseby 2 3-3 7, Scott Roehl 5 2-2 12, Jon DeRock 3 0-0 6, Kevin Andrews 1 0-0 2, Nick Dale 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 9-11 55.

MSUM (68)

Jake Driscoll 5 5-5 17, Andrew VanHavermaet 0 2-3 2, Jerome Nelson 0 2-2 2, Xavier Reed 4 2-2 10, Alex Novak 7 0-4 14, Eric Olson 1 0-0 2, Andy Thompson 1 0-0 3, Chad Thompson 1 0-0 2, Dennis Williamson 6 4-4 16. Totals 25 15-20 68.

Three-pointers SMSU-4 (Miller 3) MSUM-3 (Driscoll 2) Rebounds SMSU-38 (Huseby 7) MSUM-43 (Novak 14) Assists SMSU-14 (Zanders 7) MSUM-6 Steals SMSU-4 MSUM-6 Blocks SMSU-0 MSUM-7 (Novak 5) Turnovers SMSU-14 MSUM-16 Total Fouls SMSU-21 MSUM-13

Halftime Score MSUM 28, SMSU 22

SMSU (84)

Jordan Miller 4 0-0 11, DeAnthony Zanders 1 1-2 4, Taylor Huseby 7 1-2 15, Scott Roehl 5 1-2 11, Trent Carlson 4 0-1 11, Jon DeRock 2 0-0 5, Dalston Jones 1 1-2 4, Chris Aggen 1 0-0 2, Kevin Andrews 3 0-1 6, Lavione West 3 2-2 9, Nick Dale 2 2-6 6. Totals 33 8-17 64.

UMC (64)

Darin Weeks 2 0-0 5, Matthew Heier 3 2-4 9, Damarius Cruz 3 2-2 9, Mike Larsen 6 2-4 15, Adam Hendricks 3 3-4 9, Jason Servaty 1 0-0 3, Mike Boebel 1 0-0 3, Kyle Risinger 2 0-0 5, Trent Graves 1 0-0 2, Arol Longar 1 2-2 4 Totals 23 11-16 64.

Three-pointers SMSU-10 (Miller 3, Carlson 3) UMC 7 Rebounds SMSU-45 (Dale 9) UMC-28 (Cruz 7) Assists SMSU-18 (Peschong 5) UMC-15 (Cruz 4) Steals SMSU-4 UMC-6 Blocks SMSU-2 UMC-2 Turnovers SMSU-12 UMC-12 Total Fouls SMSU-18 UMC-16

Halftime Score SMSU 37, UMC 32