BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Scott Roehl scored a game-high 18 points and added 12 rebounds to lead Southwest Minnesota State to an 84-67 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Friday night.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Mustangs and was their sixth straight victory over the Bulldogs. SMSU is now 7-9 overall, 4-8 NSIC, while UMD falls to 7-9 overall, 5-7 NSIC. UMD started the NSIC season 4-0, but has lost six straight and seven of its last eight.

Matt Zager, in his first career start, scored 12 points with three assists and three rebounds, while Lavione West added 11 points off the bench. Vinard Birch also had a strong game with eight points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals with zero turnovers.

Ryan Rasmussen and Brett Ervin each scored 14 points to lead UMD.

SMSU finished the evening shooting 47 percent (31 of 68) from the field and tied a season-high with 21 assists and committed just nine turnovers.

SMSU used an 8-0 run early in the first half to build a 19-10 lead at the 12:23 mark following back-to-back field goals by Roehl.

UMD trimmed the lead to 23-16 with 9:16 left in the half, before SMSU answered with eight straight points, capped by a Jimmy Abraham 3-pointer with 6:35 remaining, to extend the lead to 31-16.

SMSU took a 10-point, 36-26 halftime lead, behind 10 points and eight rebounds from Roehl. The Mustangs outscored the Bulldogs 20-4 in the paint during the first half.

UMD cut the lead to 45-35 with 14 minutes left in the game, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get, as SMSU came back with a 16-5 run to push the margin to 61-40 and never looked back.

UMD finished the game shooting on 39 percent (23 of 59) from the field and was just 3 of 15 from 3-point range.

SMSU continues its four-game homestand tomorrow night taking on Bemidji State with tip-off slated for 8 p.m.