Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University’s Aeron Stevens goes up for a dunk against North Central on Dec. 8 at the R/A Facility in Marshall during a non-conference men’s basketball game.

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Mekhi Shaw’s clutch 3 to force overtime didn’t give the Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team enough momentum to come away with a win against Jamestown on Friday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. After trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, the Mustangs rallied to force an extra five minutes of game time but fell 74-71 on a late 3-pointer.

The loss ends a six-game winning streak for the Mustangs as well as a four-game losing streak for the Jimmies.

SMSU took possession with a defensive rebound with 43 second remaining, but the Jimmies forced a turnover to earn possession with no shot clock. After dribbling out most of the remaining time in a tie ballgame, Anthony Walters drained a stepback 3 with Aeron Stevens’ hand in his face to give the Jimmies a 74-71 lead with five seconds to play. Shaw sprinted down the court to try to come up with another clutch play, but couldn’t get the contested 3 to go down this time around as Jamestown held on for the win.

Trailing by 3 with nine seconds left in regulation, Shaw stepped back into a deep 3 at the buzzer to force overtime and keep the Mustangs’ hopes alive. He finished the game with 13 points, and his three 3-pointers on six attempts were second only to Landon Pokorski’s four makes on five attempts.

Aeron Stevens finished as SMSU’s leading scorer with 13 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field while Pokorski added another 20 points.

SMSU faced a 67-61 deficit with 50 seconds left in regulation, but Shaw came up with a clutch 3 to make it a one-possession game. He fouled Ford Okehi, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Pokorski responded with a layup with 16 seconds left to make it a 1-point game with 16 seconds left on the clock.

The Mustangs intentionally fouled again, and this time Owen Hektner made both free throws to make it a 3-point game with 9 seconds left, but Shaw came up strong in the clutch to force overtime.

Neither team scored for the first two-and-a-half minutes of overtime until a pair of Mason Lund free throws gave SMSU a 71-69 edge, its first lead since being up 16-13 nine minutes into the first half.

Turnovers were a difference-maker in the game, particularly in terms of how they were capitalized on. Jamestown held a 13-16 edge in the turnover battle, but converted those opportunities into a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-3 edge in fastbreak points.

Hektner led the charge with four steals for the Jimmies while Micah Schlaak had three for SMSU.

Hektner was also Jamestown’s leading scorer with 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting while Walters added another 15 points.

SMSU started the game strong, with a Lund 3-pointer bringing the Mustangs’ lead to 12-5 after the game’s first five minutes.

The tide shifted dramatically three minutes later. Facing a 6-point deficit, Thomas Diew and Aiden Johnson each hit 3s to tie the game for Jamestown and baskets from Okehi and Walters gave Jamestown a 20-16 lead.

Jamestown continued to buiolt momentum with another pair of 3s from Walters and Diew, broken up by a Stevens layup. A third 3 from Hektner gave the Jimmies the game’s first double-digit lead, 32-20, with five minutes left in the first half.

SMSU trailed by as many as 15 before a Stevens free throw and a 3 from Shaw cut the gap to 39-28 at halftime.

Dropping back a spot

Friday’s loss brings SMSU to 12-3 in conference play, leaving them a game behind first-place St. Cloud State in the NSIC standings after the Huskies defeated Minnesota State-Moorhead 77-64. SMSU is now 14-6 overall on the year.

Up next

The Mustangs remain in the Dakotas for a matchup against Northern State at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D., today at 6 p.m. With a win, the Mustangs would have the opportunity to move back into a tie for first place in the NSIC next week when they go on the road to take on St. Cloud State on Thursday night.