Photo by Jake McNeill: Local elementary schoolers react during the Mustangs’ home matchup against North Central on Monday.

MARSHALL — Jakob Braaten dished out a program-record 17 assists on Saturday in Southwest Minnesota State University’s 104-68 win over North Central on Elementary Day on Monday morning.

“I think this is one of those moments where it’s more than just basketball, and I think both North Central and us realized that this is a moment where kids are maybe out of their element and they could come into a different environment,” SMSU head coach Brad Bigler said. “We just wanted to showcase and play the game the right way, but also have some fun.”

Bigler added that SMSU wanted to thank all of the participating communities for bringing their kids out to Monday’s game and that the Mustangs are looking to include even more communities next year.

Micah Schlaak gave the Mustangs an early spark, knocking down a 3-pointer for the game’s first points and closing a 9-0 run to start the game with a dunk off a feed from Braaten.

SMSU’s lead continued to progress throughout the second half. A Mason Lund 3-pointer about five minutes in gave the Mustangs their first double-digit lead, 16-5, and Shaw came up with a steal and knocked down the layup in transition to bring the Mustangs’ lead past 20 points, 35-24, with five minutes left in the half.

Mekhi Shaw tipped in a shot in the waning seconds of the first half and Stevens came up with a block on the defensive end to send SMSU into the locker room with a 51-28 lead.

SMSU got everyone involved on the offensive end. Stevens led the way with 15 points, along with a pair of blocks, followed by 14 apiece from Schlaak, Lund, and Shaw. Brayson Boike also finished in double-figures with 11 points, Braaten and Isaiah Schafer added another 9 each and 13 Mustangs in total scored in the game.

SMSU shot 54% from the field and 47% from 3-point range on 32 attempts in the game.

Brat rewrites the

record books

Braaten’s 17 assists came on just three turnovers on Monday, breaking Marques Pena’s record of 15 that has stood since 2001. He also scored 20 second-half points on Saturday to lead the Mustangs’ comeback effort against Wayne State.

The achievement is something the team can build on going forward, but Braaten downplayed the accomplishment, saying that the only thing that mattered was the win. He credited the number to his teammates’ ability to knock down open shots.

Bigler said that Braaten’s assist total came from building off his performance against Wayne State on Saturday, adding that the Mustangs are looking to find their identity and that Braaten’s ability to drive into the lane and find open teammates makes everyone on the court better.

“His ability to get to a spot, but also his ability to make the right decision, make the right play, not just his play, but the right for the team [was key early],” Bigler said.

Making memories and memes

The number six-seven has become a nonsensical meme among Gen Alpha on social media platforms such as TikTok, associated with a dance in which people wave their hands alternately up and down. With over 1,000 elementary students from area schools in attendance for Monday’s game against North Central, the young crowd erupted when SMSU scored its 67th point on a Mekhi Shaw free throw.

“It was awesome. The kids brought great energy all day today. It just made for a super fun atmosphere for us on the court and we tried to make it fun for them today,” Shaw said.

Leading 64-36 with North Central heading to the free-throw line, Bigler encouraged his players to go for a 3-pointer.

“We all know the joke behind the six-seven, so we wanted the kids to have a little bit of fun too,” Bigler said with a laugh.

SMSU wasn’t able to get a 3 to go down on its ensuing trip down the court, with Mason Lund instead coming up with a layup. The crowd’s anticipation grew when Shaw went to the free-throw line on the next possession, but missed both. A minute later, however, he got another shot and knocked down both attempts, drawing plenty of excitement from the elementary crowd.

“After I hit the free throw, they just erupted. You know, hit the six-seven [dance], little things like that at that age are just innocent fun and it’s awesome,” Shaw said with a smile. “The kids had a great time and I’m glad we were able to do that for them.”

Up next

SMSU improves to .500 on the year at 4-4 (2-1 NSIC) with the pair of wins and goes on the road for a back-to-back this weekend. The Mustangs take on Concordia-St. Paul in the Gangelhoff Center on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Winona State on Sunday at 2 p.m.