DULUTH — Southwest Minnesota State University guard Jakob Braaten scored his 1,000th career point on Saturday when the Mustangs took on Minnesota Duluth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Braaten finished his milestone night with a game-high 20 points along with seven rebounds and four assists in a 71-62 win.

Braaten reached the milestone from the free-throw line in the final minute, giving the Mustangs an 8-point lead with 44 seconds left on the clock. He is now just 23 points of entering the top 25 of SMSU’s all-time scoring list.

SMSU never trailed in the game. A pair of 3-pointers from Aeron Stevens and a Braaten tip-in gave the Mustangs each of the game’s first 8 points. The Bulldogs tied the game back up at 8-all shortly thereafter, but SMSU pulled back ahead and went into halftime with a 37-31 edge.

Aside from Braaten, the Mustangs had a well-rounded scoring effort. Mason Lund and Mekhi Shaw contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Stevens and Micah Schlaak each added another 9.

Schlaak’s nine total rebounds were also a team-high, with his three offensive boards trailing only Shaw’s four. SMSU outrebounded the Bulldogs 41-32 to earn a 14-6 advantage in second-chance points.

A pair of Bulldog buckets to start the second half cut the Mustangs’ lead to a single point, but Mason Lund got an and-1 layup and a 3-pointer to go down and Shaw followed up with a midrange jumper to give SMSU 8 unanswered for a 9-point lead.

SMSU led by as many as 13 points, going up 64-51 on Schlaak 3-pointer with four-and-a-half minutes to play.

Both teams took care of the ball consistently, finishing with eight turnovers each. Stevens led SMSU’s efforts in the turnover battle with two steals and a block while Schlaak added another pair of blocks.

Noah Paulson finished as Duluth’s leading scorer with 13 points, followed by 11 each from Caleb Siwek and Matt Thompson. Nick Katana also contributed eight rebounds, 8 points, and a block and a steal.

SMSU improves to 10-5 on the season overall and 8-2 in conference play with the win.

SMSU remains tied with St. Cloud State for first place in the NSIC standings and next competes on Friday when it hosts Minot State (N.D.) (8-8, 5-5 NSIC) on Friday at the R/A Facility in Marshall at 5:30 p.m.