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SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: Strong defensive effort lifts SMSU over Cougars

Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Turner Moen guards a University of Sioux Falls opponent during their game on Saturday. The Mustangs defeated the Cougars 86-57.

MARSHALL – The start to the Southwest Minnesota State University and University of Sioux Falls men’s basketball game was similar to a chess match, as both teams looked to expose the big move and take advantage. SMSU made the right moves, taking a double-digit lead into halftime before continuing to shut the Cougars down en route to a convincing 86-57 victory Friday night at the R/A Facility.

SMSU coach Brad Bigler said it took a complete effort from their team but felt they created opportunities on offense as well as staying true to their gameplan.

“We really had to get refocused over the course of the week with finals and a lot of things. I just thought it was a pretty complete effort with regards to staying true to what we wanted to do,” Bigler said. “On the scouting report, we guarded personnel very well; I thought offensively we were attacking where we wanted to and created easy opportunities for teammates. Defensively, I thought we had each other’s back.”

The two teams were deadlocked in a shooting battle right from the start, as nobody could miss from the floor during the game’s opening minutes. USF took a slim 11-10 lead, but a 3-pointer from KJ Davis gave SMSU the lead back at 13-11. The Cougars continued their hot shooting from the field, including getting a four-point play from Drew Maschoff to put themselves up 25-21 with 9:41 remaining in the opening half.

A 3-pointer from Michael Lee in the corner gave the Mustangs the lead back at 26-25 midway through the half before a 6-0 run by SMSU made it 32-25 with 5:47 left. The Cougars would cut into the deficit a little bit, making it a five-point game, but Ryan Bruggeman connected from long distance to give SMSU a 37-29 lead with three minutes left.

Sioux Falls got to as close as five again later in the half, but back-to-back buckets from Kolin Bartlett kept SMSU up at 43-37.

A USF turnover gave the Mustangs possession with just four seconds left, and Bruggeman took the inbounds pass in the backcourt, drove up the floor and hit a midrange jumper to beat the halftime buzzer, sending SMSU into the locker rooms with a 45-34 advantage.

Much like the first half, the Mustangs and Cougars saw a back-and-forth start with SMSU continuing to hold its lead. A 3-point play from Turner Moen gave SMSU a 50-36 lead, forcing the Cougars to implement their backcourt press.

Taylor Schafer then connected on a three to make it 59-43 with 13:45 left and SMSU would continue to extend its lead to at least 18 points before using a 17-2 run to cement the win.

Moen led the way for the Mustangs with a season-high 15 points while Schafer had 14 and Bruggeman, Davis and Carter Kirk each had 11. Kirk also led in rebounds with nine.

Schafer said their key on offense was their ability to get the younger players going as well as getting a balanced attack.

“It was good to get the younger guys going early like Nick Dufault and Kenny Byers, and obviously Ryan’s always going to do his thing,” Schafer said. “It was important for us to get balanced scoring.”

The Mustangs defense also was dominant all night long, with SMSU holding USF to just 33 percent shooting (21 of 64). Drew Guebert, who entered Saturday as the leading scorer in the NSIC at nearly 25 points per game, was limited to just nine points on 4 of 14 shooting.

Bigler said they were able to take Guebert out of rhythm on offense and make him work for his shot opportunities.

“I thought we were able to take him out of rhythm. He wasn’t able to get some of those same looks, so he really had to work for his shots,” Bigler said. “He’s a very talented player, and he’s going to make some of those tough shots, but I thought we made him work for everything.”

SMSU (9-3) extends its winning streak to five consecutive games and will enter their winter break period for the next two weeks before facing Augustana University on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.

Bigler said the break is always much needed, but added it would be nice to continue playing.

“We’ve been playing kind of good right now and it’s kind of tough to take that break. We wish we could get this rolling, but at the same time, this break is good timing and these guys have really earned it,” Bigler said. “As far as coming back, we’ve got to come back in shape because those first two games coming back after Christmas, there’s not a whole lot of coaching it’s all about toughness and where they’re at for conditioning, and we’ll see where we’re at.”

USF 34 23-57

SMSU 45 41-86

SCORING: SMSU 32-62, 51.6 percent (Moen 5-9, 2-3 15; Schafer 5-11, 3-4 14; Bruggeman 5-10, 0-0 11; Davis 4-8, 2-2 11; Kirk 3-6, 5-6 11; Lee 3-3, 0-0 9; Byers 4-6, 0-2 8; Bartlett 3-5, 0-0 6; Dufault 0-4, 1-2, 1).

3-POINT FGS: SMSU 9-22, 40.9 percent (Moen, Lee 3; Bruggeman, Davis, Schafer 1).

REBOUNDS: SMSU 45 (Kirk 9; Bruggeman 7; Moen, Bartlett 5; Lee, Byers, Schafer 4).

ASSISTS: SMSU 17 (Bruggeman 6; Davis 4; Moen, Kirk 2).

STEALS: SMSU 4 (Moen 2; Dufault, Schafer 1).

BLOCKS: SMSU 3 (Bartlett 2; Kirk 1).

FOULS: SMSU 15.

TURNOVERS: SMSU 8.

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