Box Score
MARSHALL, MINN.: Southwest Minnesota State shot a season-low 32.7 percent from the field including 25 percent in the second half but solid defense forced 21 Minnesota, Crookston turnovers as the Mustangs earned a hard-fought 54-41 victory on Friday night in Marshall.
SMSU (11-8 overall, 6-4 NSIC) connected on 9 of its first 14 shots in the first half to build 27-14 lead with 7:06 remaining in the half. SMSU then went ice-cold from the field for the remainder of the game making just 8 of 38 shots in the final 27 minutes.
SMSU took a 31-20 halftime lead forcing 11 UMC (4-15 overall, 1-9 NSIC) turnovers which lead to 12 Mustang points. The Mustangs shot 39.3 percent in the first half (11 of 28) while the Golden Eagles shot 42.1 percent (8 of 19) in the first 20 minutes.
The shooting struggles continued for SMSU in the second half as the Golden Eagles chipped away pulling to within 41-39 with 6:40 remaining in the game. SMSU responded though with a 10-0 run in the next three minutes to seal the victory. Ross DeMasi connected on two free throws to put SMSU 43-39 with 5:50 left and following a missed UMC missed three-pointer, DeMasi scored on a lay-up to push the lead to 45-39 with 5:16 on the clock. Moments later DeMasi scored again to give SMSU a 47-39 lead at 4:43, before Travis Krenske hit a jumper and two free throws to close out the run and give SMSU the lead 51-39 lead with 2:51 left in the contest.
Matt Fletcher paced the SMSU offense with a game-high 17 points hitting on five three-pointers and grabbing eight rebounds. DeMasi finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Krenske closed out the evening with nine points and now has 997 in his career and will look to become the 15th SMSU player to reach the 1,000 point mark tomorrow night versus Bemidji State.
Ryan Krome finished the game with a career-high seven steals one shy of the school single-game record.
Eli McVey led Minnesota, Crookston with 10 points and hit on a team-high two three-pointers.
SMSU will close out its four-game conference homestand tomorrow night hosting Bemidji State at 8 p.m. The game is the annual “Hawaiian Night” contest at SMSU.
