Photo by Jake McNeill: The Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team reacts to a play on Dec. 8, 2025, against North Central in Marshall during a non-conference game. The Mustangs travel to take on Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji this weekend.

MARSHALL — After its six-game win streak came to an end with a loss to Sioux Falls last weekend, the Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team looks recapture its momentum when it goes on the road to take on Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

Glancing at the standings

Entering the weekend matchup, the Mustangs are tied for first in the NSIC’s South Division with a 9-5 overall record and a 6-2 conference record, tying them with St. Cloud State and Augustana. Minnesota Duluth leads the North Division at 6-2 in conference play (10-4 overall) while Bemidji State is tied for sixth with UMary at 3-5 (6-7 overall).

SMSU got to this point after overcoming a slow start to the season, losing four of its first six games. Since then, however, the Mustangs have been on a roll; prior to its 81-78 loss to Sioux Falls on Saturday, the Mustangs had won five consecutive games by double digits.

A look back at last week

In its first game back from winter break, Mekhi Shaw and Jakob Braaten each scored 22 points against Sioux Falls, with Shaw shooting 8 of 12 from the field with six assists. SMSU led by as 12 points with six minutes to play in the second half, but gave up a run of 16 unanswered points over the course of the ensuing three-and-a-half minutes.

The Mustangs made a valiant push while trailing by 5 with 14 seconds to play, cutting the deficit to a point with one second left on the clock, but ran out of time to complete the comeback.

The recent road for the Bulldogs

Since falling to fourth-place Jamestown in a North Division matchup on Dec. 13, the Bulldogs have picked up three straight wins to climb to the top of the standings.

In their post-break debut, the Bulldogs earned an 89-77 win over Bemidji behind 26 points from Noah Paulson on 11 of 14 shooting. The Bulldogs had four players crack double figures in the game and another pair with 8 or more.

Winning in the margins

Duluth has the second-best point differential in the NSIC this season, with its plus-7.2 mark trailing only St. Cloud State’s plus-9.4. SMSU slots in at No. 4 at plus-4.3.

Duluth’s success has largely come due to its defensive prowess. The Bulldogs’ 69.1 points per game allowed trails only St. Cloud State’s 67.3 and is just ahead of SMSU’s 70.8. Their 42% field goal percentage allowed also ranks fourth in the NSIC.

Part of the Bulldogs’ danger is their ability to disperse their offensive workload, preventing opponents from focusing on any one player. Caleb Siwek and Kole Hanson have been Duluth’s leading scorers at 13.5 and 13.1 points per game this season.

Braaten continues to step up

Braaten has continued to put together a career-best season for SMSU in his senior year with the team. After averaging 5.9 points per game over his first two seasons with the team and 14.3 in his junior year, Braaten ranks ninth in the NSIC with 16.8 points per game this year on 50% shooting from the field and 44% shooting from long range. His 5.3 assists per game also rank second in the NSIC behind Augustana’s Tameron Ferguson.

Still, SMSU has been far from a one-player team. The Mustangs have four players averaging double figures this season.

Perhaps most notable among the team’s leading scorers is the leap from Micah Schlaak. After not playing as a true freshman, Schlaak has averaged 11.8 points per game this year on 54/46/82 shooting splits. His 21 blocks are also 10 more than any other player on the team, his 27 steals trail only Shaw’s 28 and his 4.2 rebounds per game rank third on the team.

Changing up the pace

On the opposite end of the scoring spectrum, Bemidji State ranks third in the NSIC with 83.6 points per game so far this season.

Henry Shannon III and John Pecarich have been at the forefront of the Beavers’ success thus far. Shannon III is the conference’s third-leading rebounder with 7.7 boards per game and seventh-leading scorer with 17.2 points per game on 54% shooting. Pecarich, meanwhile, leads the NSIC with 21.3 points per game on 48.6% shooting from the field.

Where to watch

Friday’s game against Bemidji State in the BSU Gymnasium is slated to start at 5:30 pm. while Saturday’s against Duluth in Romano Gymnasium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. 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