Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University forward Micah Schlaak (15) guards a Sioux Falls player during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference mens basketball game on Jan. 3 at the R/A Facility in Marshall. The Mustangs host Minot State and UMary this weekend.

MARSHALL — After sweeping a pair of road matchups last weekend, the Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team returns home this weekend tied for first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s South Division. SMSU will attempt to retain that pole position when it hosts a pair of conference foes from North Dakota, Minot State and UMary.

​Glance at the standings

The Mustangs have won eight of their last nine games since getting off to a slow start to the season, bringing their overall record to 10-5 and their conference record to 8-2. The hot streak has the Mustangs tied with St. Cloud State for the best record in the NSIC.

Minot State has been middle of the pack in the conference’s North Division, sitting at 8-8 overall and 5-5 to rank fifth of eight teams in the division. UMary, meanwhile, has lost three straight games to fall to 5-11 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

Last time out

SMSU routed Bemidji State 85-55 on Friday and Minnesota Duluth 71-62 on Saturday.

Jakob Braaten was SMSU’s leading scorer in the win over Duluth with 21 points and scored 12 against Bemidji, trailing only Mason Lund’s 21. The pair of performances pushed Braaten over the 1,000-point mark for his career. He also grabbed seven rebounds in each game with seven assists across the two days. He’s currently 10th in the conference in points per game with 16.7.

Minot too shabby

Minot State ranks middle of the pack in offense and defense, ranking seventh with 77.7 points per game and eighth with 77.1 points allowed. Their average scoring margin of plus-0.6 ranks 12th in the conference, contrasting with SMSU’s second-ranked plus-6.3 margin.

Deuce Benjamin has carried the bulk of the scoring load for the Beavers with 19.5 points per game, slotting in at second in the NSIC. He’s been aided by Darik Dissette’s 14.2 points per game.

While the Beavers’ scoring totals have been middling, they’ve been fairly efficient on both ends of the court. Their 47.4% field goal percentage is fifth in the NSIC — two spots behind SMSU’s 47.9% clip — and their 41.9% field goal percentage allowed ranks third, two spots ahead of SMSU’s 43.4% mark.

Most recently, Minot State lost both games of a homestand against St. Cloud State and Minnesota State. The Beavers fell 71-57 to the Huskies on Friday despite Benjamin and Dissette’s combined 31 points, and fell 72-67 to the Mavericks after closing in on a 15-point second-half deficit. Isaiah Alexander scored 21 points in the loss, while Dissette added another 19.

Tumultuous times for the Marauders

UMary heads into Saturday’s matchup against the Mustangs having lost five straight conference games, with just a win over Bismarck State breaking up the losses. Still, UMary has played many of those opponents tight; They lost 86-83 to Minot State and 68-65 to Minnesota State on Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, followed by a 72-60 loss to St. Cloud State on Jan. 10.

While recent tight games may inspire hope, the Marauders have still struggled overall. Their minus-2.7 average scoring margin ranks third-to-last in the NSIC, beating out only Minnesota Crookston’s minus-5.9 and Winona State’s minus-9.3.

The Marauders’ main issue this season has been their offensive efficiency. While they’ve held opponents to 44.6% shooting on the season, ranking eighth defensively, their offense has shot 41.5% from the field to rank second-to-last in the NSIC.

Kelton Coleman has been a big part of the Marauders’ defensive success, with his 2.5 steals per game ranking second in the conference. Still, SMSU’s tenacity on the perimeter is unmatched; Mekhi Shaw and Micah Schlaak rank third and fourth in the conference with 2.1 and 2.0 steals per game, while Braaten ranks sixth with 1.7.

Coleman is also the Marauders’ only player ranking top 25 in the NSIC in scoring average with 13.5 points per game this year.

Where to watch

Both Friday’s game against Minot and Saturday’s game against UMary will be played at the R/A Facility in Marshall. Friday’s game against Minot State is slated to tip off at 5:30 p.m., while Saturday’s White Out game is scheduled for 5 p.m.

General admission tickets are going for $15 while student tickets are available for $5, and can be purchased online at SMSUmustangs.com/tickets

A radio broadcast of both games can be found on 105.1 FM KARL, while live video and stats are available online at SMSUmustangs.com.