BOX SCORE

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Southwest Minnesota State kept its season alive on Saturday night putting together a key 14-0 run in the second half to earn a 56-51 victory over Northern State on Saturday night in Aberdeen, S.D.

The victory pushes SMSU (15-11, 10-10 NSIC) into a three-way tie for sixth place in the final NSIC standings and into the upcoming NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament starting on Wednesday, March 3. SMSU, due to tie-breakers, will be the No. 8 seed in the tournament and will face NSIC champion Minnesota State starting at 7 p.m. in Mankato, Minn.

Scott Roehl led SMSU with his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, making 6 of 9 shots.  Jordan Miller was the only other Mustang in double figures with 10 points.

SMSU shot just 33.3 percent from the field (19 of 57), including just 3 of 18 from 3-point range, but finished making 15 of 20 free throw attempts.

Northern State ends its season with an overall record of 13-14, 9-11 NSIC. It was also the final game for NSU head coach Don Meyer who retired following the game after 38 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Meyer's finishes his career with an all-time record of 923-324.

SMSU trailed 45-39 with seven minutes and 54 seconds left in the game, but the Mustangs scored 14 straight points in three minutes to build a 53-45 lead with 4:28 remaining.  Miller's 3-pointer with 5:12 left snapped a 45-45 tie to give SMSU its first lead since early in the second half.

Northern State wouldn't go away and scored six straight points to trim the Mustang lead to 53-51with 27 seconds left in the game.  Following a NSU foul, SMSU's DeAnthony Zanders connected on two crucial free throws with 26.8 seconds on the clock to extend the lead to 55-51.

The Wolves would miss two 3-point field goal attempts on its next possession before Roehl grabbed a defensive rebound to seal the victory making one free throw with 4.6 seconds left. 

SMSU, which held a 23-20 halftime lead, pushed the lead to 25-20 early in the second half, before NSU took its first lead of the second half at 29-26 with 16 minutes and 31 seconds remaining.  The Wolves maintained the lead for much of the next nine minutes in building the 45-39 lead with under eight minutes left in the game before the game-changing SMSU 14-point run.

The two teams played to a tight first half as SMSU jumped to an early 13-7 lead with 13:47 left following a 3-pointer by Kevin Andrews. SMSU maintained the lead until NSU used a 6-0 run midway through the half to build a 16-15 lead with eight minutes remaining.

The Wolves pushed the lead to 20-17 with 5:47 remaining in the half, but the Mustang defense held the Wolves scoreless for the remainder of the half and finished the half scoring six straight points to take a 23-20 halftime lead.

SMSU shot 32.1 percent (9 of 28) from the field in the opening half, while NSU finished shooting just 26.9 percent (7 of 26). SMSU held a 22-18 rebound margin at half, while the two teams combined for 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Mitch Boeck, playing his final game for NSU, scored a game-high 16 points, but was just 5 of 19 from the field, including 2 of 7 from 3-point range.  Jordan King, who entered the game averaging 4.4 points, scored 15 points and drilled three 3-pointers.