Photo by SMSU Athletic Communications: Southwest Minnesota State forward Jake Phipps (center) shoots a floater over a Minnesota State forward during a mens basketball game in Marshall on Friday, Feb. 2. The Mustangs and Mavericks will meet again in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference semifinals on Monday morning at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

No. 1/2 ranked Minnesota State University maintained first-place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a hard-fought 68-58 victory over Southwest Minnesota State University in men’s college basketball on Friday night inside the R/A Facility.

MSU (20-2 overall, 14-2 NSIC), which trailed 35-34 at halftime, limited SMSU to 35 percent shooting in the second half and closed the game with a 21-10 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

The first five minutes of the second half proved to be the difference in the game as the Mavericks used a 16-2 run to eras the one-point deficit and build a 50-37 lead.

SMSU, which drops to 12-9 overall, 9-6 NSIC, was led by Jake Phipps, who scored a team-high 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting, while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Dunwa Omot was the only other Mustang to reach double figure scoring with 10 points with three 3-pointers.

Up next

SMSU continues play at home on Saturday facing Winona State with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m.