SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: Mustangs run away from Bulldogs, 79-54
MARSHALL – Just four days removed from a NSIC South Division Championship, the Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team continued its strong play with a 79-54 victory over the University of Minnesota Duluth in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament Wednesday.
The Mustangs got things started in the first half by scoring the game’s first five points before the Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard. UMD then cut the deficit to one at 9-8 on a Luke Harris 3-pointer before the big man connected on another outside shot to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night at 11-9.
The Mustangs answered on the ensuing possession, however, as Michael Lee put one through the bottom of the net from deep to make it 12-11 in favor of SMSU. Both teams would trade points on the next few possessions before SMSU went up by five at 22-16 with 8:37 left in the first half.
Another 3-pointer by UMD cut it to three at 22-19 and later cut it to four at 25-21, but then the tenacious Mustang defense came alive. The Bulldogs would only score one point over the final 6:29 of the first half, and UMD’s cold shooting quickly turned into SMSU points down on the other end of the floor.
SMSU extended its lead to eight with three minutes left before reaching its first double-digit advantage of the game at 11 points with a minutes to go. The Mustangs would then take a 35-22 lead heading into the locker room.
The second half only got better for SMSU, as the Mustangs would go up by 20 at 44-24 in the opening minutes of the second frame. After reaching the 30-point lead mark midway through the half, SMSU reached its biggest lead of the game at 37 points, 68-31, with 11 minutes left and held at least a 26-point lead the rest of the way to earn the 79-54 victory.
SMSU coach Brad Bigler thought his team shared the ball well and cranked up the intensity in the second half, which would be the difference maker.
“It’s kind of one of those games where you go out and take care of business. I thought we executed well and that run in the second half was the difference in the game,” said Bigler. “A lot of guys played well; to see 17 assists to seven turnovers, that shows unselfish basketball. That’s what you need to do in this point of the season, you don’t want to be caught in one-on-one situations where guys are trying to be the hero. I thought they did a great job of playing team basketball tonight.”
Carter Kirk and Turner Moen led the way for the Mustangs each scoring 15 points, with Moen’s coming as a season-high. Taylor Schafer added 14 points while KJ Davis chipped in nine. Moen also led in rebounds with seven while Ryan Bruggeman dished out six assists.
Bigler said their key on the offensive end was their ability to knock down shots when given the opportunity. The Mustangs shot 29 of 54 from the field, including connecting on nine 3-pointers.
“They were really packing it in, and our ability to shoot the three was important tonight. Not just to shoot it, but to make them respect it,” said Bigler. “I thought tonight we were drawing the attention of the defense and driving and kicking and we were able to knock down nine threes.”
On the defensive end, the Mustangs held UMD to just 38.5 percent shooting and forced 12 turnovers.
SMSU senior Mitch Weg said they ran some different defensive schemes that helped throw off the Bulldogs offense throughout the game.
“We did a couple of things to start. We were doing some man but worked in some 2-3 zone and some press just to switch it up on them,” said Weg. “With all three of those things, we executed on the defensive end to get some stops when we needed to and extend the game.”
SMSU (23-5) advances to the NSIC quarterfinals and will square off against the University of Sioux Falls Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Bigler said their biggest takeaway is continuing to take care of the basketball and play as a team.
“It’s playoff basketball. It’s one of those things where you have to have a sense of urgency on every possession and the game seems to go by a little bit faster,” said Bigler. “You have to take care of the basketball and execute at a high level. In playoff basketball you’ve got to be able to take their punches and not fold as well as staying in the game and just knowing you’ll have some runs too.”
UMD 22 32 – 54
SMSU 35 44 – 79
SCORING: SMSU 29-54, 53.7 percent (Kirk 6-6 3-4 15; Moen 4-5 4-4 15; Schafer 5-9 2-2 14; Davis 4-9 0-0 9; Lee 2-5 0-0 6; J. Bartlett 3-9 0-0 6; Bruggeman 2-4 0-0 5; Weg 1-3 3-3 5; K. Bartlett 2-4 0-0 4).
3-POINT FGS: SMSU 9-24, 37.5 percent (Moen 3; Lee, Schafer 2; Davis, Bruggeman 1).
REBOUNDS: SMSU 30 (Moen 7; Lee 5; Weg, J. Bartlett 4; Three with 2; Schafer, K. Bartlett 1).
ASSISTS: SMSU 17 (Bruggeman 6; Osmundson 4; Weg, Schafer 2; Three with 1).
STEALS: SMSU 7 (Moen 4; J. Bartlett 2; Kirk 1).
BLOCKS: SMSU 1 (Kirk).
FOULS: SMSU 12.
TURNOVERS: SMSU 7.