Rolling Mustangs Place Fifth at NIWBT

The Mustangs opened the tournament with a heartbreaking first-round loss against the University of Arizona 58-50 on Thursday. Friday the Mustangs bounced back to defeat the University of Missouri 61-40. On Saturday Mar. 15, the Rolling Mustangs edged Edinboro University (Pa.) 49-41 to secure fifth place at the 31st annual NIWBT. With the win the Mustangs ended with a 14-11 record for the season.

Game 1 Recap:
The Mustangs opened the tournament against the fourth-ranked Arizona Wildcats. The Mustangs came out with a lot of emotion and took an early 12-point lead over their opponent. The first half ended however on a run from Arizona and at intermission the scoreboard showed 26-22 in favor of the Wildcats. The second half began with the two teams trading baskets but then SMSU went on an eight minute stretch where it was held scoreless. At the end of this stretch the Mustangs trailed by 21. After applying full court pressure the Mustangs closed the gap to as few as six points before Christian Ekunwe fouled out with less than two minutes remaining. In the end the SMSU lost by eight and was lead by Evan Thorn with 15 points, Nathan Carruth added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Nathan Peitz chipped in with 10 points.

Game 2 Recap:
SMSU bounced back the next day against the University of Missouri with a convincing 61-40 victory. The Mustangs have had Missouri's number all season and this time was no different. SMSU was able to use full court pressure to dominate the younger team and consequently allow all of its bench players to gain valuable post-season experience. The Mustangs were led to victory by Nathan Carruth with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Evan Thorn added 19 points while Nathan Peitz added 13 points and nine assists.

Game 3 Recap
The fifth place game pitted the Rolling Mustangs against Edinboro. This was a low-scoring defensive battle in which two teams were fighting to end its season with a win. At the half, the score was tied 20-20. Throughout the game no team led by more than eight points. Given foul trouble to both Evan Thorn and Jared Riggle. Thomas Abrahamson played a significant 22 minutes of relief scoring seven points including 3-of-6 from the free throw line. In the end the Mustang defense and team play led to a 49-41 victory. Senior Nathan Peitz saved one of his best games for his last scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds. Other solid contributors were Nathan Carruth with 12 points and nine rebounds and Christian Ekunwe with 14 rebounds.

“I could not have been more proud of the team,” co-head coach Paul Weiland said. “They played their hearts out in every game and after losing a heartbreaker the first day they fought back to win two straight games to earn fifth place. It's obvious we could have done better but these kids gave every ounce of effort they could and that's all any coach could ask.

After the tournament Evan Thorn was recognized as second team All-America while his teammate and fellow tri-captain Nathan Peitz was recognized as first team All-America. The tournament was won by the University of Illinois, which defeated the defending national champions the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, by the score of 63-58.

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