Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU's Taylor Schafer reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during their game against Northland on Tuesday. The Mustangs defeated the Lumberjacks 92-61.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team picked up their fourth win of the season on Tuesday in a 92-61 nonconference home victory over the Northland Lumberjacks that saw a milestone moment as Taylor Schafer reached the 1,000-career point mark in the process.

Entering the game in need of 15 points to accomplish the feat, Schafer took only one half of basketball to get it done as the senior guard went 5 of 8 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Reflecting on the career milestone, Schafer couldn’t be happier to have done it with the company of his great teammates.

“I mean, it’s awesome,” said Schafer. “It’s obviously a great achievement, but I mean it’s great to spend it with these group of guys and to be able to fill guys’ shoes before me and just be part of the program has been awesome.”

Schafer’s night got off to a red-hot start in Tuesday’s contest that began with three consecutive 3-point shots that provided SMSU nine of its first 10 points and a 10-5 lead early in the game. Continuing to find open shots, the Mustangs made the Lumberjacks pay with strong perimeter shooting and great ball movement that paved the way for a strong start offensively that coach Brad Bigler came away highly impressed with.

“I thought in the first half we were outstanding,” said Bigler. “We were making the extra pass, creating easy opportunities for teammates and just taking high percentage shots.”

Joining Schafer in knocking down threes in the opening 20 minutes was Braedan Hanson who made his first of three in the half to push SMSU’s lead to 20-7 before adding another one moments later to make it 23-13. Of those 23 points to begin the game for SMSU, 18 came from the 3-point line – creating a difficult task in trying to defend for the Lumberjacks. According to Schafer, it’s the team’s unselfish nature that sparks their success with the outside shot.

“We just said move the ball,” said Schafer. “We share the ball so well and when we get paint touches and pass-pass-attack we do really well and it opens up the middle. I mean Ryan (Bruggeman) can get by anybody, so I mean once he gets by we’re going to have open shots on the perimeter for whoever’s open.”

The Mustangs continued to roll late in the first half with a 17-0 run to make it 37-13 and remained in control into the final minute carrying a sizeable 56-27 lead into halftime.

Following the explosive opening half, the Mustangs cooled off in the second half of play and were lacking the same intensity that had carried them to their big lead early on. Opening the door for Northland, the Lumberjacks were able to find their rhythm with their best run of the game – outscoring SMSU 13-6 in the opening minutes and cutting the lead to 67-47. According to Bigler, the lack of intensity shown out of the half with a large lead in hand is something his team has struggled with previously and needs to be corrected moving forward.

“It’s hard when you have that lead coming out of halftime,” said Bigler. “It’s hard to have that same sense of urgency and it’s now something in back-to-back games that we have to do a better job of learning from. Hopefully we can get that corrected on Saturday versus Crown.”

Returning to form behind a strong effort down low from Steven McNease, who would finish the night with a 16-point, 18-rebound double-double performance, the Mustangs amped up the energy level to conclude the game and pushed the lead to over 30 points for the first time all game where it would remain to the final buzzer. After the game, Bigler praised the work of his big man for providing a desperately needed spark in the second half.

“I have to give McNease a lot of credit,” said Bigler. “His relentless effort on the boards (with) seven offensive rebounds, I thought Steven really gave us a great spark in that second half.”

The Mustangs will conclude the nonconference portion of their schedule on Saturday when they take on Crown College at home at 1 p.m. Following their matchup with Crown, the Mustangs will have a week off before beginning their NSIC conference schedule a home game against Sioux Falls on Dec. 1.