/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: SMSU faces Stonehill and Northern Michigan at Minnesota Duluth Classic

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team (1-1) continues non-conference play today and Saturday with a pair of games at the Minnesota Duluth American Family Insurance Classic inside Romano Gymnasium.

•SMSU will face Stonehill College (Mass.) (1-1) today with game time set for 5 p.m.

•SMSU closes the weekend facing the Northern Michigan University (1-1) on Saturday with game time at 3 p.m.

Broadcast info

•Both games will be broadcast on Marshall Radio. Today’s game will air on 105.1 FM KARL, while Saturday’s game will be on 94.7 FM KKCK. Dan Paluch will provide play-by-play for both games.

•Live stats, radio broadcast and video can be found at SMSUmustangs. com.

Series history vs. Stonehill College

•Southwest Minnesota State and Stonehill will be meeting for the first time ever tonight.

•Stonehill is a member of the 14-team Northeast-10 Conference.

•SMSU has played just one current member of the Northeast-10 Conference in program history. The Mustangs lost to Bentley University (Mass.) in the third place game of the 2000 Disney Tip-Off Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Series history vs. Northern Michigan

•Southwest Minnesota State and Northern Michigan meet for the sixth time on Saturday afternoon with SMSU leading 4-1.

•NMU won the first-ever meeting during the 1986-87 season, but SMSU has won four straight since the 2013-14 season.

•SMSU won the last match-up, 85-78, on Nov. 18, 2017, played in Moorhead.

Mustang 2019-20

tip-off tidbits

•SMSU set a team record last season shooting 81.3 percent from the free throw line, but are shooting just 50 percent following two games this season.

•Junior Kenny Byers recorded a pair of double-doubles in last weekend’s opening two games and now has three in his career.

•SMSU held a 44-27 rebounds advantage at Central Missouri in the season opener and was outrebounded 36-35 in the loss to Arkansas-Monticello. Last season, SMSU outrebounded its opponent just twice in its last 21 games and finished last in the NSIC in rebound margin (-8.5).

•Redshirt freshman Brian Dayman reached double figures for the first time in his career last Sunday with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers versus Arkansas-Monticello. He also grabbed six rebounds in the win over Central Missouri.

•Junior Nick Dufault ranks fourth in team history in 3-point field goal pct. (43.4).

•SMSU is shooting 40 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 50 percent from the free throw line and is plus-4.0 in rebound margin.

•SMSU is averaging 59 points per game, while opponents are averaging 64 points per game.

Scouting Stonehill

•Stonehill is 1-1 on the season after defeating the University of District Columbia, 61-55, before losing to Saint Thomas Aquinas College, 85-70, last weekend.

•Stonehill was picked to finish second in the in the seven-team Northeast Division of the Northeast-10 Conference.

•The Skyhawks return 12 letter winners and four starters from last season’s team that finished 14-15 overall, 8-13 in conference play.

•Senior guard Will Moreton is averaging 18.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg through two games with six 3-pointers.

•Senior guard Brandon Twitty is averaging 17 ppg with a team-high 14 field goals.

•Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus is in his seventh season with a record of 98-77. He has led the Skyhawks to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including an NCAA East Region title in 2016.

Scouting

Northern Michigan

•NMU is 1-1 on the season and will play at Minnesota Duluth on Friday. The Wildcats opened the season with a 76-63 win over Lewis (Ill.), before dropping a 69-46 decision at McKendree (Ill.).

•NMU finished last season 17-12 overall and placed third in the GLIAC North Division with a record of 11-9. The Wildcats just missed qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

•NMU was picked to finish sixth in the six-team North Division of the GLIAC preseason coaches’ poll.

•Junior guard Alec Fruin averages 13 points with four 3-pointers through two games.

•Senior guard Myles Howard was named five-player preseason all-conference after leading the league in blocks last season and averaging seven rebounds per game.

•NMU head coach Matt Majkrzak is in his first season. He was head coach at Bryant & Stratton College in Wisconsin last season. He was also an assistant coach at Bemidji State and Chadron State.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today