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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Southwest Minnesota State picked up a big road victory on Sunday night behind a game-high 31 points from Ryan Bruggeman to defeat the University of Sioux Falls, 79-75 in NSIC men’s basketball at the Stewart Center.
The victory for SMSU avenged an earlier 94-72 loss to USF in Marshall on Dec. 1. SMSU improves to 8-4 overall, 3-3 NSIC, while USF drops to 8-4 overall, 3-3 NSIC.
Bruggeman, who reached 30 points for the fifth time this season and seventh in career, connected on 11 of 21 field goals, while also dishing out five assists and grabbing seven rebounds.
Taylor Schafer also had a strong game for the Mustangs with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting with four 3-pointers. Michael Lee and Kenny Byers each added eight points, while Nick Dufault and Braedan Hanson both chipped in with six points. Steven McNease led the team with eight rebounds and also had three steals and one blocked shot.
SMSU finished the game shooting 41 percent (27 of 66) from the field, including 11 of 30 from 3-point range. The Mustangs committed just six turnovers in the game and forced the Cougars into 14, including 13 in the second half.
USF was paced by Trevon Evans’ 29 points with four 3-pointers, while Chase Grinde added 13 points and six rebounds. The Cougars shot 47 percent (27 of 58) from the field and made 8 of 19 from 3-point range.
The teams played a tight opening half which featured five ties and five lead changes. SMSU built its first four-point lead of the half at 25-21, following a 3-pointer by Hanson with 6:48 remaining. Byers would later hit a jumper to give SMSU 29-25 advantage, but USF rallied with nine straight points to take its largest lead of the game 34-29.
Hanson ended the Cougars run with a big 3-pointer to spark a 7-1 spurt by the Mustangs to close the half and take a 36-35 halftime lead.
Bruggeman scored 14 points with four rebounds in the opening half for SMSU. The Mustangs shot 38 percent in the half with six 3-pointers.
SMSU held a 41-38 advantage three minutes into the second half, but USF countered with a 7-0 run to retake the lead at 45-41 with 13:45 left.
USF would maintain a 47-43 lead at the 11:52 mark, but SMSU regained the lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Lee and Byers to build a 49-47 lead midway through the half. Bruggeman and Lee added field goals moments later to give SMSU a 53-47 lead with 8:25 left.
Evans cut the deficit to 56-53 with a 3-pointer, but Schafer answered on the other end with a 3-pointer and was followed by a jumper from Bruggeman to give SMSU a 61-53 lead at the 6:38 mark.
USF came right back with five straight points to trim the deficit to 61-58, but a layup by Bruggeman at the 3:33 mark pushed the lead to 63-58.
Bruggeman would later convert a huge three-point play with 2:52 left to extend the margin to 67-59.
SMSU pushed the lead to 72-63 with 58 seconds left after a Bruggeman free throw, but USF wouldn’t go away and eventually cut the lead to 77-75 with 13 seconds remaining. Following two Evans free throws, Bruggeman received the in-bounds pass and was fouled with eight seconds left. He sank both shots to seal just the second SMSU victory at USF since Dec. 30, 2008.
Southwest Minnesota State returns home on Friday, facing Augustana University (9-3, 5-1 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m. at the R/A Facility.
Saturday
Nebraska 79,
SMSU 38
LINCOLN, Neb. – The University of Nebraska, ranked No. 23 in the latest USA Today Coaches poll, connected on 11 3-pointers and limited Southwest Minnesota State to 30 percent shooting, to earn a 79-38 victory in men’s college basketball on Saturday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Saturday’s game was an exhibition for SMSU, while it was a regular season game for NU, which improves to 11-2 overall and is off to its best 13-game start since 1991-92.
The Huskers are coached by Tim Miles, who spent four seasons as the head coach at SMSU from 1997-2001. SMSU head coach Brad Bigler played four seasons under Miles and helped SMSU win the 2001 NSIC and NCAA region championship.
SMSU finished the game making just 16 of 53 field goal attempts, while connecting on 3 of 21 from 3-point range. The Mustangs had a scoreless streak of nearly six minutes in the first half and failed to score in the final five minutes of the game.
NU finished the game shooting 44 percent (29 of 66), including 11 of 24 from 3-point land. The Huskers held a 47-30 rebound advantage and forced the Mustangs into 15 turnovers, which led to 24 points.
Ryan Bruggeman and Steven McNease each scored eight points to pace the Mustangs. Bruggeman also had seven rebounds and three assists.
James Palmer and Glynn Watson both poured in 16 points for the Huskers, while Isaac Copeland added 12 points.
The Huskers jumped out scoring the game’s first 12 points, before Bruggeman ended the run with a field goal at the 16:30 mark of the half. McNease would later hit a pair of free throws and was followed by a jumper from Bruggeman to cut the deficit to 12-6.
Bruggeman scored on a layup midway through the half to make the score 19-10, but the Mustangs went scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Huskers pushed the lead 24-10. Michael Lee would end the drought with a 3-pointer, but the Huskers answered with a 13-0 run to push the margin to 37-13, before settling for a 37-19 halftime lead.
SMSU shot just 29 percent (7 of 24) from the field with a pair of 3-pointers in the opening half and committed nine turnovers. NU held a 16-2 scoring advantage off of turnovers and finished with a 24-17 rebound edge in the half.
Much like to open the game, NU had a quick start to begin the second half, using an 11-2 run to build a 48-20 advantage with 16 minutes remaining and never looked back.
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