BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State scored a season-high 96 points, while shooting a season-high 62 percent to earn a 96-86 victory over Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday night in Marshall.

Jordan Miller paced SMSU (6-6, 3-2 NSIC) with a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, while also adding eight assists and two steals.  Miller was one of five SMSU players to score in double figures.  William Giddings scored a season-high 15 points, while Vinard Birch and Nick Smith each added 14 points, with Lavione West rounding out the top scorers with 10 points.

Terez VanPelt led CU (1-7, 0-5 NSIC) with a career-high 28 points, including making 15 of 17 free throws.  VanPlet also recorded seven assists and four steals.  Cole Olstad also had a strong game for the Golden Bears with 23 points with three 3-pointers.

SMSU shot 69 percent from the field in the second half (18 of 26) and made 15 of 20 free throws in the final 20 minutes.  CU, which shot just 29 percent in the opening half, shot at a 50 percent (14 of 28) clip in the second half and finished the game making 29 of 36 free throws.  SMSU finished the night connecting on 34 of 55 shots with six 3-pointers on 10 attempts.

SMSU jumped to an early lead to begin the game and built a 14-6 lead with 13 minutes and 47 seconds left in the half following a jumper from Birch.

CU cut the deficit to 15-13, before SMSU countered with a 14-7 run to take its largest lead of the half at 29-20 with 8:26 remaining after a layup by Miller.

The Golden Bears trimmed the Mustangs lead to 31-30 at the 4:42 mark, before SMSU closed the half with a 3-pointer and a layup in the final 20 seconds to take a 42-36 halftime lead.

SMSU shot 55 percent in the opening half with three 3-pointers and limited CU to just 29 percent shooting. 

The Mustangs maintained the lead for the first 11 minutes of the second half before CU took its first lead since the first half on a 3-pointer by Cordell Smith with 8:53 left to make the score 65-64. 

The two teams traded 3-pointers, before SMSU regained the lead for good at 69-68 on a jumper by West with 7:46 remaining in the half. 

Holding a 73-72 advantage with 5:50 left, SMSU put together an 8-0 run to push the lead to 81-72 at the 4:19 mark and never looked back in earning its fourth straight win over CU.  The lead ballooned to 88-74 with two minutes left after a free throw by Miller.

Southwest Minnesota State will now be off for the holiday break and return to play on Friday, Jan. 4, 2013, with a road game versus Winona State.