BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State extended its season-high winning streak to three games with a convincing 74-55 victory over Upper Iowa in NSIC men's basketball on Friday night in Marshall.

SMSU (11-9, 8-5 NSIC) shot 54 percent from the field and recorded a season-high 10 blocked shots, led by a career-high five from Nick Smith.

Jordan Miller led five SMSU players in double figuring scoring with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting, while Lavione West added 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting.  William Giddings added 13 points off the bench, connecting on three 3-pointers, with Vinard Birch (11) and Matt Zager (10) rounding out SMSU's double-digit scoring.

UIU (13-6, 9-4 NSIC) was led by Tucker Wentzien's 21 points and nine rebounds.

Smith's five blocked shots was the most by an SMSU player since Nick Dale recorded five in the NCAA regional championship versus Augustana on March 17, 2009.

SMSU dominated the opening half, opening an 11-11 tie with 13 minutes and 29 seconds left, by putting together a 10-0 run to build a 21-11 lead with nine minutes left in the half.

UIU trimmed the deficit to 24-16, but again SMSU had an answer and closed the half with 12-3 run in the final 6:13 to push the lead to 36-19 at halftime.

SMSU finished the half shooting at a 56 percent (15 of 27) clip from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, while limiting UIU to just 31 percent (8 of 26) shooting.

The Peacocks trimmed the Mustang lead to 42-31 with 14 minutes remaining in the game, but SMSU responded with a 23-5 run to seal the victory, pushing the lead to 65-36 with 7:32 remaining following a pair of free throws by Giddings.

SMSU finished the game with a 35-30 rebound advantage and made 18 of 22 free throws. 

UIU shot 38 percent (22 of 58) from the field and connected on just 9 of 18 free throws.

Southwest Minnesota State will close out the weekend tomorrow night hosting No. 25 Winona State for the annual “Hawaiian Night” game with tip-off set for 7 p.m.