BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State junior Scott Roehl recorded his first career double-double with a game-high 19 points and game-high 11 rebounds to lead SMSU to an 82-66 non-conference victory on Thursday night in Marshall.

SMSU (7-2) extends it winning streak to three in a row, while UMM (3-6) drops its third straight. The win was also SMSU's 17th straight over UMM dating back to the 1996-97 season. It's also the third time in school history SMSU has began a season with a 7-2 record.

SMSU had three other players score in double figures with redshirt freshman Jordan Miller scoring 12, while senior Andrew Peschong and senior Jon DeRock each added 11 points. Senior DeAnthony Zanders dished out six assists and had three steals for SMSU, while senior Kevin Andrews also added six assists.

Minnesota-Morris jumped out to an early 6-2 lead before SMSU rallied with 12 straight points to build a 14-6 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the opening half. UMM rallied to cut the deficit to two points on two occasions, including 21-19 with less than eight minutes left in the half, before SMSU countered with an 8-0 run to take it largest lead of the half at 29-19 with 5:01 remaining.

UMM cut the lead to four points in the last minute before SMSU's Lavione West ended the half with a dunk to give SMSU a 37-31 halftime lead.

SMSU shot 51.6 percent from the field in the first half, but was just 3 of 8 from the free throw line. SMSU and UMM both committed nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

The Cougars trimmed the deficit to four points at 41-37 with 17:16 left in the game before the Mustangs answered with a 13-5 over the next four minutes to push the lead to double digits at 53-42 with 13:26 on the clock.

SMSU maintained a double digit lead for the next five minutes before UMM made one final run to cut the deficit to 62-54 with 8:41 to go, but the Mustangs put the game away with a 10-1 run over the next two minutes to build a 72-55 lead with 6:24 remaining in the contest and never looked back.

The Mustangs shot 60.7 percent in the second half and made 8 of 9 free throw attempts.

Phil Allen led Minnesota-Morris with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field.

SMSU is now off for the holidays and will return to NSIC action on Saturday, Jan. 2, with a road game versus MSU Moorhead.