SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: Big second half propels USF around SMSU, 84-69
Trending
MARSHALL -- After enduring a back-and-forth, heart-pounding triple overtime victory a week ago, the Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team looked to keep the momentum in its favor in a second matchup against the University of Sioux Falls.
But just as it saw in the first meeting back in November, the Mustangs found themselves in a close battle at halftime before a second-half scoring barrage helped push the Cougars past SMSU 84-69 on Saturday at the R/A Facility.
SMSU coach Brad Bigler credited Sioux Falls for having a lot of intensity and energy throughout the game and felt they did a better job of making the plays when their offense wasn't being productive.
"I just want to give them a lot of credit. I thought Sioux Falls came out and played with such a great intensity and energy that they earned the win. They didn't shoot well the first half but they got eight offensive rebounds vs. our zero and we had more turnovers than them and they set themselves in a position to be successful even though the ball wasn't going in the hoop," Bigler said. "Looking in the second half, we didn't do that; they scored on 18 straight possessions in the second half and that's the storyline of the game, where our resiliency was tested and they were able to make those second-effort plays and I want to give those guys all the credit because USF without question was the better basketball team."
A tight start
Similar to its previous matchup against the Cougars, the Mustangs got out to a solid start, as a 3-pointer by Cliff McCray gave SMSU a 7-5 lead before a personal 9-point scoring streak by Nick Dufault made it 16-12 with 11:09 left in the first half. USF responded with a small run of its own, however, to tie things up at 23-23 before the two teams traded points the remainder of the half to give the Cougars a one-point advantage at the break, 33-32.
Cougars capitalize big in the second half
SMSU began the second half with another strong burst, getting a 3-pointer and a layup from Kenny Byers to give the Mustangs a 42-37 lead with 16:29 left. But then the Cougars -- who had used a 29-12 run in the second half of Nov. 30's victory over SMSU -- capitalized on the offensive end throughout the next several minutes, scoring on 18 straight possessions to outscore the Mustangs 24-8 and push USF's advantage to double digits at 61-50 near the midway mark.
Bigler said they weren't surprised by the Cougars defensive set-up of the 1-3-1 in the second half, but added his team wasn't able to find enough consistency on its possessions, which led to USF's game-changing run.
"They had that same success on us in the 1-3-1 the first time, so it wasn't a surprise. We had been working all week on simple concepts of how to break a 1-3-1 and for whatever reason we just locked up," Bigler said. "By freezing up, we looked tentative and they took advantage of it."
A 3-pointer by Dufault cut the deficit to single digits, but that was the closest SMSU got, as USF went up by as many as 17 en route to the 84-69 victory.
Byers led the way for the Mustangs with 23 points while Dufault added 16 and McCray had 11. McCray led in rebounds with four while Byers led in assists with five.
Up next
SMSU (4-8, 1-5 NSIC) will have the next couple of weeks off before returning to play on Jan. 3 against Augustana University at 7:30 p.m. Bigler said going into the next part of their schedule, they need to continue to show their strengths on defense and look to grow and improve on the offensive end.
"Into the next semester, we have shown that we can be a great defensive team, that's got to be our backbone, that's got to be us," Bigler said. "We are about our defense right now and offensively we've got to find a way to keep growing week by week and be creative and providing ourselves a chance to set ourselves up for success."
USF 84, SMSU 69
USF 33 51 -- 84
SMSU 32 37 -- 69
Scoring: SMSU (Byers 8-14, 4-5 23; Dufault 7-15, 0-0 16; McCray 4-5, 0-0 11; Baker Magrath 4-6, 0-0 8; Dayman 2-4, 0-0 5; Hanson 0-0, 2-2 2; Stafford 1-5, 0-0 2; Phipps 0-1, 2-2 2).
Rebounds: SMSU 25 (McCray 4; Baker Magrath, Dayman, Byers, Hanson, Phipps 3).
Assists: SMSU 12 (Byers 5; McCray 3; Dayman, Dufault 2).
Steals: SMSU 1 (Baker Magrath).
Blocks: SMSU 1 (Hanson).