Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University forward Micah Schlaak (15) drives into the paint during the second half of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference mens basketball game against UMary on Saturday in Marshall.

MARSHALL — Micah Schlaak sparked the Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team’s offense early with 9 unanswered points to start its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup against UMary on Saturday. The Mustangs rode that early momentum to 76-48 win.

Schlaak was the only Mustang to score in the first five minutes, shooting 4 of 6 from the field over the opening stretch to propel SMSU to a 9-5 lead when he was subbed out to take a breather. He went on to score 18 first-half points on 7 of 11 shooting, leading the Mustangs to a 37-24 lead at the break.

“Micah has a chance to be a special player,” SMSU head coach Brad Bigler said, adding that his impact goes deeper than just the scoring numbers he puts up. “Sometimes the fans, sometimes the media — no offense — put too much emphasis on stats, and there are certain people that just make an impact on winning, and he makes such a big impact on winning.

“You’ve got to recognize who’s guarding the best player on the other team and who makes winning plays … Defensively, his ability to guard multiple people but contain and stop his [matchup] and win those one-on-one battles that aren’t in the stat sheet, those are the things that a special team needs to have.”

UMary trimmed the deficit to a pair of points, 11-9, before 3s from Brayson Boike, Mason Lund and Schlaak gave the Mustangs a 12-point cushion.

The Mustangs’ long-range shooting was a difference-maker in the game. SMSU set a new season-high with 16 3-pointers made on 34 attempts while limiting UMary to 8 of 37 shooting from beyond the arc.

Schlaak led the long-range barrage with 5 of 11 shooting for a game-high 23 points, followed by another 3 makes from Landon Pokorski for 9 points. Lund was one of three Mustangs to knock down another pair of 3s as he finished with 10 points.

Jakob Braaten was the primary facilitator for the Mustangs on the night, accounting for eight of the Mustangs’ 22 assists while Pokorski added another four.

Braaten turned the ball over just once in the game, and his impact went beyond the box score, Bigler said, noting Braaten’s ability to drive and kick to another player who gets the assist doesn’t show up on the box score.

SMSU tightened its grasp on the game when Braaten assisted an Aeron Stevens layup and knocked down a 3, and Schlaak added another 3 before coming away with a steal for an easy fastbreak dunk. Braaten added another free throw to cap off an 11-0 run to open the half, doubling up the Marauders for a 48-24 Mustang edge.

The Mustangs led by as many as 35 points in the game, giving themselves the luxury of getting 13 players in the game and giving 11 players at least four minutes. Having games where everyone can get on the court is a good thing for the team becuase of how much the Mustangs emphasize everyone’s importance in contributing to winning, Bigler said.

“We always talk a lot about, at the end of the year when you’re posing for a picture, it doesn’t matter who scored the most points,” Bigler said. “The joy, from a coach’s perspective, to watch those moments where everyone is sacrificing in their own way to be a champion is so special, and they’re obviously a big part of it.”

Buss and Braaten led SMSU with eight and seven rebounds, respectively, culminating in a 37-32 edge on the glass.

Jackson Ware was the only Marauder to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting. His six rebounds were also a team-high while Tamarrein Henderson and Tyresse Poku Mensah tied with a team-high four assists.

Locking in on defense

A slow start to the season had SMSU ranked outside of the top 200 in the country defensively, Bigler noted. Since then, SMSU now ranks 49th in Division II in points per game allowed at 69.2, a notable improvement in a short stretch of time. The defensive buy-in, combined with the team’s ability to run its offense through a pair of skilled facilitators in Braaten and Shaw, is a big part of why SMSU has won 10 of its last 11 games since its 2-4 start.

“Sometimes when you have elite guards, you don’t have to do that much. When you have elite guards, you allow them to be elite, and both of them are playing at an all-conference level,” Bigler said.

On the defensive end, SMSU has plenty of length on the frontcourt with Schlaak, Stevens, Buss and Boike and it’s allowed SMSU to be effective in its ability to disrupt passing lanes. Shaw, Schlaak and Braaten each rank top 4 in the conference in steals per game, Bigler noted, with Schlaak also ranking third in blocks per game.

“When you have Micah, Mekhi and Braat, it makes my job look a lot easier,” Bigler said with a laugh. “We’re making a lot of plays on the defensive end and that gives us a lot of confidence … They’re versatile, they anticipate well and they play very powerfully.”

Up next

The Mustangs improve to 12-5 overall on the season and 10-2 in the NSIC, keeping them tied with St. Cloud State for first place in the conference standings after the Huskies overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Minnesota Duluth 92-87 in overtime on Saturday.

SMSU remains on its home court next week, hosting Minnesota State-Moorhead (10-8, 7-5 NSIC) for Faith and Family Night on Friday and Minnesota Crookston (3-14, 1-10 NSIC) on Saturday for Tropical Night. Friday’s tip off against the Dragons is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday’s against the Golden Eagles is slated for 7 p.m.