Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University's Mekhi Shaw (2) drives to the basket during the first half of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference mens basketball game against Sioux Falls in Marshall on Saturday.

This story will be updated with stats, quotes and details

MARSHALL — A series of offensive lulls late in the second half left the Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team shy of a win when it hosted Sioux Falls for a non-conference matchup on Saturday. The Mustangs gave up 16 unanswered points to fall behind late in the game, and a late surge from 3-point range wasn’t enough as the Mustangs fell 81-78.

Trailing by 11 points, an offensive lull from the Mustangs allowed Sioux Falls to claw its way back into the lead. The Cougars rattled off a 15-3 run to claim their first lead of the half, 50-49, on a Brogan Madson layup with 13 minutes to play. Yet, a Brayson Boike corner 3 and a Jakob Braaten 3 from the top of the key on back-to-back possessions gave SMSU a 55-50 edge.

SMSU’s lead built up to 12 points, 67-55, when Sioux Falls strung together 16 unanswered points to take its first lead of the second half, 71-67, with 2:31 to play.

Braaten put SMSU back on top 45 seconds later with a post hook, knocking down the shot through contact and the ensuing free throw to claim a 72-71 edge. Yet, Madson knocked down back-to-back buckets, and one free throw each from Taylen Ashley and Madson gave the Cougars a 77-72 lead with 14 seconds left on the clock.

With no time to waste, SMSU rushed down the court and Mekhi Shaw drained a 3-pointer to make it a 2-point game. Yet, a defensive lapse on the ensuing inbound left Brandon Hrncir with an easy dunk.

Braaten was able to connect from 3 again, but with just 0.3 seconds to play, the Mustangs didn’t have enough time to rally. They sent Madson to the free-throw line with an intentional foul, but didn’t have enough time left for a heave after Madson hit both shots.

Shaw and Braaten were the driving forces of SMSU’s offense on the day, each scoring 22 points in the game. Shaw shot an efficient 8 of 12 from the field and knocked down two of his three attempts from beyond the arc, while Braaten shot 8 of 16 while connecting on half of his six attempts from long range.

Shaw and Braaten also dished out six and three assists, respectively, though each also turned it over six times.

Sioux Falls finished the first half strong but Micah Schlaak reclaimed the Mustang momentum to start the second half with a pair of layups, the latter of which he set up with a steal, to give SMSU a 39-33 lead.

Following a Bryon Laue tip-in, SMSU brought its lead back to its apex of 9 points when Calvin Buss drained a 3 and Shaw dropped a defender for an easy layup.

Sioux Falls had the opportunity to trim the deficit at the free-throw line, but went 0 for 2 and Shaw made the Cougars pay with a layup to claim the Mustangs’ first double-digit lead of the day, 46-35.

SMSU got off to a blazing-hot start, scoring each of the game’s first 9 points, 5 of which came from Braaten and the other 4 from a Schlaak layup and dunk.

The Mustangs’ offense stalled out from there, however. Sioux Falls took advantage with 10 unanswered points to take their first lead of the day, 14-13, with eight minutes to play in the half. Madson was particularly impactful on the run, scoring each of the final 8 points of it.

Over the course of the ensuing five minutes, the two teams traded the lead five times, with the game getting tied up another three times.

SMSU took the lead for good in the half when Mason Lund knocked down a corner 3 with three minutes to play. Shaw followed up with a layup and a 3 on consecutive possessions before assisting a Lund 3 to bring the score to 35-28 with 80 seconds to play in the half.

Still, the Cougars heated up down the stretch. A pair of free throws from Madson made it a 5-point game and Camden Davis grabbed a defensive rebound before passing it up downcourt to Jacoby Mehrman, who drained a 3 at the buzzer to trim SMSU’s lead to 35-33 at the half.

The Mustangs drop to 8-5 (6-2 NSIC) on the season with the loss and return to action on Friday, when they head out on the road to take on Bemidji State at 5:30 p.m.