Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University guard Mekhi Shaw jumps into the crowd to celebrate the Mustangs’ win over Wayne State, Dec. 6 in Marshall.

MARSHALL — Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team looks to hold onto pole position for a bye in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament. The Mustangs host Augustana tonight at 7:30 p.m. for their home finale, and go on the road to take on Wayne State on Saturday at 3 p.m. to close out the regular season.

After being tied for first place in the NSIC heading into the last week in January, the Mustangs have lost five of their last six games to fall to 15-10 and 13-7 in conference play. The skid has SMSU tied with Concordia-St. Paul for third place in the conference, with the top four teams earning a first-round bye in the NSIC tournament and the next four hosting their opening-round matchups. The Mustangs are one game up on fifth-place Minnesota State and a game-and-a-half up on sixth-place Minnesota Duluth.

Momentum shift?

The Mustangs snapped a four-game skid last Thursday, defeating Winona State 79-71 behind 15 points apiece from Jakob Braaten, Mason Lund and Micah Schlaak. Mekhi Shaw and Aeron Stevens also finished in double figures, with Stevens grabbing a game-high eight rebounds with two blocks and two steals.

The Mustangs were unable to build on the win in their Saturday matchup against Concordia-St. Paul, however, falling 78-69 to the Golden Bears despite having four scorers in double figures, led by Braaten’s well-rounded 11-point, seven-rebound, six-assist effort.

Seniors’ last hurrah

SMSU will have four seniors playing their final game in the R/A Facility tonight. Starting guards Jakob Braaten and Mason Lund have each spent their entire collegiate careers with the Mustangs, with Braaten being named as one of 25 players to watch for the Trevor Hudgins award for the top small college basketball player in the country.

SMSU also fields transfer seniors Caleb Schlaak and Luke Stevens. Schlaak transferred to SMSU ahead of the 2023-24 season, while Stevens transferred to SMSU from Bellarmine last year as a baseball player before joining his younger brother Aeron on the basketball team for his senior season this year.

Exorcising Augie demons

Augustana has had the Mustangs’ number as of late, winning 13 of the teams’ last 14 matchups since 2019 and claiming each of the last three by double digits. The Vikings are currently second in the NSIC standings at 15-5 in conference play.

The Vikings downed the Mustangs 97-75 in Sioux Falls, S.D. earlier this season behind Tameron Ferguson’s 26-point, 11-rebound double-double. Tanner Te Slaa and Sam Rensch also contributed 19 and 17 points, respectively, to the Augustana offense while Mason Lund led SMSU with 20 points on six 3-pointers and six rebounds in the loss.

Ferguson currently ranks third in the NSIC with an average of 19.9 points per game, and his 53% field goal percentage ranks fourth in the conference. As a passer, his 6.8 assists per game lead the conference and his 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is second only to Minnesota State’s Arhman Lewis’ 3.4.

Caden Hinker has also been a major floor-spacing asset for the Vikings. Hinker’s 43% 3-point percentage ranks third in the conference and his 15.2 points per game rank ninth.

Still, SMSU has been better as a team in terms of 3-point shooting, averaging nine makes per game on a league-best 40% shooting compared to Augustana’s 8.9 makes on a 38% clip. SMSU redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak leads the conference with a 47% 3-point rate and his 51 makes are tied for 11th.

Wayne State wildcards

The Mustangs’ series against the Wayne State Wildcats has been incredibly even as of late. The teams have alternated wins and losses over their last eight games, with each of the last two games being decided by one or two possessions.

When the teams met in Marshall earlier this year, SMSU trailed by as many as 20 points and didn’t claim its first lead until the final nine minutes of the game. The Mustangs led by 2 points with 45 seconds left, but got a stop on the defensive end and iced the game with a pair of Micah Schlaak free throws and a block from Calvin Buss at the buzzer.

Braaten led SMSU with 22 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals in the win while Aeron Stevens and Micah Schlaak each chipped in another 13 points.