“We started off the game playing pretty well, and then our turnovers in the first half kind of allowed them [MSU] to get back in the game a little bit … Our goal coming into that second lineup was to come and bring energy, and I think we did a good job with that,” Shaw said. “Just play our basketball, play our style, knowing we can play with anybody, and we’re hard to guard. That’s what we did, and we tried to turn our defense into offense.”

Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak led SMSU throughout the first half with game-highs of 9 points, five steals and two blocks, while Shaw came alive in the second to bring the Mustangs back ahead with 16 points and five steals. SMSU led 34-27 at the half, while MSU tied the game up at 54 with under eight minutes to play.

SMSU’s defense was a gamechanger, scoring 22 points on 19 forced turnovers while the Mavericks were held to 9 points off eight turnovers.

“We were just playing our system defense, and then offensively, just attack and take what they give us,” Schlaak said. “They were kind of giving us those lane-line drives. Then, we got to throw it back and re-attack off of that. That seemed to work down the stretch, and we took advantage.”

Southwest Minnesota State University's Landon Pokorski goes up for a shot in the first half.

Although the Mavericks outrebounded the Mustangs 35-26, SMSU didn’t allow them to make a difference on second-chance points with 12 to SMSU’s 9.

“We always say, ‘Bend, but do not break,'” SMSU head coach Brad Bigler said. “They [MSU] may get it [the rebound], but let’s not allow them to score off it. Just keep playing. Stay invested and stay engaged.”

MSU, the 2024 NCAA Division II champions, came out hot in the second half with a 6-0 run to bring the score within 1, SMSU hanging onto a 34-33 lead.

Jakob Braaten hit a driving layup that sparked Mustang momentum with a 15-5 run in return to build a 49-38 advantage.

Mason Lund drained a 3-pointer, while Shaw and Schlaak scored four straight points, topped with a 3 from Aeron Stevens during the run.

Southwest Minnesota State University's Micah Schlaak drives the lane in the first half Thursday night against Minnesota State University.

The Mavericks weren’t done fighting, continuing to chip away and eventually tied the game 54-54 with 7:38 to go with back-to-back 3-pointers by Chase Bartlett and Will Opsahl.

“Honestly, at that point, it was [about] just trying to stick to the game plan, trying to create a little bit more space for Braat and Mekhi to get paint touches, and then to allow our creativity to keep them [MSU] off guard,” Bigler said. “I thought that creativity allowed Aeron to get a couple buckets, and that allowed us to get to the baseline and make some plays.”

Shaw put away five straight points with a 3 and a layup as SMSU embarked on a 7-0 run with a Stevens’ layup to build back up a 61-54 lead.

“Their [MSU’s] point guard [Traijan Sain, who finished with 23 points], he was playing very well, and he’s a great downhill player. My goal was to not let him get the ball. The best way to stop somebody is don’t let him get it,” Shaw said regarding his performance. “That was the task that I was given, and I took pride in that, and tried to take him away. My teammates did a great job of having my back.”

SMSU’s ball movement shined on a handful of late possessions, running down clock and waiting for an open look, as Shaw continued to show confidence with another steal, a 3-pointer and a defensive stop to force a Mavericks timeout with 2:53 left and a SMSU 66-57 lead.

Southwest Minnesota State University's Aeron Stevens goes up for a shot in the first half Thursday night.

“Bigler always emphasizes, after a turnover, get a shot up and get a good shot. That was our emphasis — Come down, get a good shot on offense, and then lock down on defense to get stops,” Shaw said. “Turn our defense into offense, and that’s what happened. We forced like five turnovers towards the end, and took off with that.”

A Stevens steal led to a Lund wide-open dunk with just over two minutes left to help put a dagger on the win, as the Mustangs were able to shave off seconds while MSU fouled to end the night.

Shaw’s previous career high was 17 points against Minot State on Jan. 11, and tied his career high in steals from Jan. 3 against Minnesota Crookston with six.

Three other Mustangs finished in double figures with Schlaak’s 16 points, three blocks, five rebounds and six steals, while Lund and Braaten followed with 13 and 11 points, respectively. True freshman Brayson Boike shared a team-high five rebounds.

SMSU also had strong production from its bench with 27 points, to the Mavericks’ 7 bench points.

Overall, SMSU shot 49% from the field and 9 of 17 at the perimeter, and held MSU to 44% and 5 of 17 at the arc.

Lund opened up the night with a corner 3-pointer with a feed from Landon Pokorski from across the lane, quickly followed with back-to-back layups from Braaten.

The Mustangs forced 12 turnovers in the first half alone while committing just five, and grabbed nine steals to MSU’s three.

“I think for the most part, the guys were pretty locked in. I thought rim protection was better the second half, but give Minnesota State credit, though,” Bigler said. “They hit a couple, I call them level-three passes, and they’re just hard to guard. So, [we] did a good job with that, too.”

Schlaak went on a 7-0 run himself with a 3-pointer and pair of field goals for a Mustangs’ 21-15 lead with 9:45 to go in the half.

“Micah is growing right before our eyes,” Bigler said. “His ability to impact the game in so many ways — Blocked shots, the steals, but then also his ability to shoot the 3. He’s doing a great job. Really proud of him.”

MSU returned the favor with a run to cut into a 25-22 deficit, which Shaw put a stop to with a 3 of his own, before the Mustangs went into the locker room with their 7-point halftime lead.

The Mustangs now move to a 5-1 start in conference play for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

SMSU (7-4, 5-1) will stay home this weekend and host St. Cloud State (7-3, 5-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the R/A Facility.

“I think we just got to take pride in our preparation. Take it one game at a time. You know, can’t look too far in the future, and we did a good job of that tonight,” Shaw said regarding SMSU’s strong conference-play start. “Focus on tonight. After the game, now we got to focus on St. Cloud on Saturday, that’s what we got to prepare for and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to take pride in that.”