Box Score
CROOKSTON, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State rallied from a 14-point first half deficit and went on to earn its 10th victory in a row with a 67-46 victory over Minnesota, Crookston on Saturday night in Crookston, Minn.
SMSU, ranked No. 1 in the Central Region, remains in sole possession of first place in the NSIC and now has won 13 of its last 14 games. SMSU is now 20-5 overall, 12-3 in the NSIC. It's the fourth 20-win season in school history, including the third under head coach Greg Stemen in his eight seasons.
SMSU won the game with tremendous defense in the second half limiting UMC to just 17 points and 35 percent shooting, while outrebounding the Golden Eagles 19-4 in the second half.
The Mustangs were also red-hot from the field making 18 of 25 shots in the final half, including a perfect 5 of 5 from three-point range.
Ross DeMasi led SMSU with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Jon DeRock added 10 points.
SMSU committed just nine turnover and forced UMD into 16 turnovers.
SMSU struggled from the field in the opening half making just three of its first 18 shots in the first 11 minutes to fall behind 20-8 with 8:30 left in the first half.
UMC extended the lead to 27-13 late in opening half before Jon DeRock ended the Golden Eagle run with a three-pointer and followed that with a pair of free throws to trim the lead to 27-18 with two minutes left in the half. Ross DeMasi scored with 50 seconds left in the half to cut the UMC lead to 27-20, before UMC answered with a field goal to end the SMSU 7-0 run. SMSU's DeAnthony Zanders closed out the half with a pair of free throws with one second left to cut the UMC lead to 29-22 at halftime.
The Mustangs made just 7 of 29 shots in the first half and was outrebounded 22 to 11. Ross DeMasi paced SMSU with seven points in the first 20 minutes.
SMSU started the second half much strong opening with an 11-3 run to take its first lead of the game at 33-32 four minutes into the second half on a field goal from Andrew Peschong. UMC would regain the lead at 36-35 with 13:38 left, but SMSU rallied with an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to push the lead to 43-36 with 9:33 left in the contest.
UMC would cut to the lead down to four points with eight minutes left before SMSU rallied again and pushed the lead to 55-41 with 4:50 left in the game capped by a three-pointer by Zanders. Peschong added a field goal with 3:45 remaining to make the score 55-41, before Akeem Cubie finally ended the Mustangs run with a three-point play to trim the lead to 57-44 with just over three minutes left in the game. That was as close as UMC would close the lead as the Mustangs
SMSU will return home next weekend host St. Cloud State and Concordia. Friday night's game versus SCSU is set to tip-off at 8 p.m.
