SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: Late rally falls short for Mustangs in 82-80 loss against Upper Iowa
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MARSHALL -- The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team used a second-half rally to edge Winona State University on Friday. For the second straight evening, the Mustangs found themselves in a similar situation, trailing Upper Iowa University going into halftime, but a spirited rally in the second half by SMSU came up just short as Upper Iowa earned an 82-80 victory on Saturday at the R/A Facility.
Trailing 77-68 with less than three minutes left, SMSU would get a pair of free throws and a 3-point play by Kenny Byers to make it a four-point game at 77-73 with 2:03 to go. Byers continued to attack for SMSU, as he got two more free throws and a layup to trim the deficit to just two at 79-77 with 1:17 left. But that was the closest they got, as Upper Iowa made three free throws to take an 82-77 lead with four seconds remaining before Byers' 3-pointer at the buzzer brought it to the 82-80 final.
"Our ability to defend gives us a chance every night," SMSU coach Brad Bigler said. "[Tonight], you have to give Upper Iowa credit, they made about eight shots that were absolutely ridiculous shots and it was very impressive on their part of how they stepped up and knocked down their shots."
It was back and forth to start, with Upper Iowa taking a 5-2 lead before Jake Phipps answered on the ensuing possession with a layup with 18:43 left in the first half. The two teams then traded points over the next few minutes, with Upper Iowa getting a pair of 3-pointers to take a 21-15 lead with 12:20 left in the half before the Mustangs drew to within four on a Phipps layup just past the midway mark.
Upper Iowa would build an eight-point lead on a couple of occasions, including 33-25 with 5:01 to go in the half, and SMSU answered with layups by Anthony Costello and Phipps to get to within four again at 33-29 with 2:40 left. UIU then pushed its advantage back to eight going into the locker rooms at 43-35.
The second half saw Upper Iowa maintain at least a five-point advantage throughout the first few minutes, before a 3-pointer made it a 10-point lead at 63-53 with 10:55 left. Upper Iowa would push its lead to 12 at 72-60 with 7:27 left, but SMSU continued to battle, as a layup by Sam Schwartz and consecutive baskets by Byers made it a six-point game at 72-66 with 5:24 left, paving the way for the tight finish.
Byers led SMSU with 22 points while Phipps added 15, Costello had 12 and Cliff McCray and Dunwa Omot each added 10. Byers also led in rebounds with seven while Phipps and McCray led in assists with three each. As a team, SMSU shot 51.7% (30 of 58) from the field, but connected on just four of 14 (28.6%) from 3-point range.
Bigler said their key offensively, especially in the second half, was their ability to create space and attack the lane early in the possessions.
"I think just creating space. It wasn't anything complex; creating space, getting downhill early in the possessions and just really putting pressure on them," Bigler said. "I also thought Jake did an outstanding job of giving us a spark in the second half as well."
Defensively, SMSU allowed Upper Iowa to shoot 49.2% (29 of 59) from the field, including 8 of 18 (44.4%) from 3-point range.
Up next
SMSU (6-4 overall, 2-3 NSIC) will hit the road next weekend, taking on Concordia-St. Paul next Friday at 5:30 p.m. before facing MSU Mankato next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Going into their next matchups, Bigler said they just need to keep playing with confidence as a group, especially on the offensive end.
"We have to continue to play with confidence on the offensive end," Bigler said. "If we can find a way to have a rhythm, we make each other better offensively and we'll have a chance."
Upper Iowa 82, SMSU 80
Upper Iowa 43 39 - 82
SMSU 35 45 - 80
Scoring: SMSU (Byers 8-13, 5-8 22; Phipps 6-9, 3-3 15; Costello 5-10, 1-2 12; McCray 4-13, 2-2 10; Omot 3-6, 3-4 10; Schwartz 2-3, 2-2 6; Kramer 1-2, 0-0 3; Benson 1-2, 0-0 2).
Rebounds: SMSU 37 (Byers 7; Phipps 6).
Assists: SMSU 8 (Phipps, McCray 3; Byers 2).
Steals: SMSU 5 (Omot 2; Byers, Benson, Costello 1).