BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Redshirt freshman Matt Zager scored a career-high 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting and also added five rebounds and three steals to lead Southwest Minnesota State (2-1) to an 87-65 victory over Minnesota-Morris (2-1) on Saturday afternoon in Marshall.

The victory for SMSU was its 18th straight over UMM dating back to the 1996-97 season. Zager was one of four Mustang players to score in double figures. Scott Roehl recorded his second straight double-double and his ninth of his career with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Jordan Miller added 14 points, while Taylor Huseby chipped in with 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting.

SMSU held a 41-33 rebound advantage and outscored UMM 40 to 22 in points in the paint.

Steve Birman, who entered the game averaging 25 points per game, was held to just 19 points on 23 shot attempts to pace the Cougars.

UMM build an early 12-8 lead four minutes into the game before a pair of Zager free throws and a basket by Lavione West tied the game at 14-14 with 14:30 on the clock.

The game was tied at 16 with 10:46 remaining in the half as both teams struggled shooting, but SMSU snapped the tie with eight straight points to build a 24-16 lead with 7:55 remaining. A strong SMSU defense limited Minnesota-Morris to just four points from the 15-minute mark until six minutes remained in the half.

The Mustangs build the lead to as many as 11 points in the opening half before settling for a 10-point, 38-28 halftime lead. Zager led SMSU in the first half with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting.

UMM battled in early in the second half and cut the SMSU lead to 46-42 with 14:46 left in the game, but the Mustangs rallied with a 9-2 run in less than two minutes to push the lead to 55-44 with 12:57 on the clock.

The Cougars made one last run, cutting the margin to 55-48 with 12:12 left, but the Mustangs ended the threat putting together another big run over the three and a half minutes to take a 65-49 lead with 8:47 remaining and never looked back.

SMSU shot a season-high 57.1 percent from the field (32 of 56) with four 3-pointers in 10 attempts. The Mustangs were also solid from the free throw line connecting on 19 of 22 attempts.

Jimmy Abraham and Miller each led the Mustangs with five assists.

SMSU will continue non-conference next Saturday, Nov. 27, hosting Northwest Missouri State at 3 p.m. SMSU won the first meeting between the two teams 72-67 on Nov. 14 in Maryville, Mo.