BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, MINN. - Southwest Minnesota State used a balanced scoring effort with seven players scoring at least seven points and the Mustangs committed a season-low five turnovers to earn an 80-57 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Upper Iowa on Saturday night in Marshall.

SMSU improves to 11-5 overall and 4-3 NSIC, while UIU drops to 2-12 overall, 1-7 NSIC.

The Mustangs scored the first three points of the game and never trailed as they opened an 11-point lead with 3:32 left in the first half before taking a 33-26 halftime lead.  SMSU shot just 31.3 percent in the opening half and was outrebounded 18 to 15, but the Mustangs committed just one turnover in the half and forced UIU into 11 turnovers, leading to 13 Mustang points.

Upper Iowa cut the Mustang lead to 33-28 in the opening seconds of the second half but SMSU answered back with a 9-4 run in the next three and a half minutes to build a 42-32 lead with just under 16 minutes left in the game.

SMSU held a 44-36 lead with 14 minutes left in the contest before the Mustangs put the game away with a 10-2 run in the next two and a half minutes to extend the lead to 54-38 with 11:30 left in the game and never looked back in earning its second win over Upper Iowa this season.  SMSU defeated UIU 80-62 earlier this season in a non-conference game in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Jon DeRock and Ryan Krome led the balanced Mustang scoring with 10 points each and combined for seven assists and zero turnovers.

DeAnthony Zanders tied a career-high with nine points off the bench for SMSU connecting on three of four shots from the field.

SMSU ended the evening shooting 31.3 percent from the field (23 of 55) and made a season-high 26 free throws on 32 attempts.

Nick Kramer led Upper Iowa with 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting.

SMSU will hit the road next weekend with a pair of NSIC games.  The Mustangs face St. Cloud State on Friday, Jan. 16 and Concordia on Saturday, Jan. 17.