BOX SCORE

FAYETTE, Iowa – Jordan Miller scored a game-high 23 points to power Southwest Minnesota State to a big 74-69 road victory over Upper Iowa on Saturday night in NSIC men's basketball.

SMSU, which suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Winona State on Friday night, improves to 7-7 overall, 4-3 NSIC.  UIU had its three-game winning streak snapped and drops to 9-4 overall, 5-2 NSIC.

SMSU shot 62 percent (13 of 21) from the field in the second half and made 11 of 12 free throws in the final 20 minutes to secure the victory.  The Mustangs ended the night shooting 52 percent (26 of 50) from the field and 83 percent (20 of 24) from the free throw line.

Nick Smith was the only other Mustang to score in double figures with 14 points, while grabbing six rebounds.  Matt Zager chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.

Zager drilled a 3-pointer with 11 minutes left in the opening half to give SMSU a 17-15 lead and the Mustangs never trailed again, building a nine-point lead before settling for a 36-32 halftime advantage.

SMSU opened the second half with layups by Miller and Vinar Birch, before Smith capped the opening second half run with a dunk to push the lead to 42-32 with 17:54 left in the game.

The Mustangs pushed the lead to 13 points on three occasions in the half, including 65-52 with 7:35 remaining, until UIU made one last push.

SMSU was held scoreless for the next four and a half minutes with UIU scoring 10 straight points, capped by a Bo Pagel 3-pointer with 3:03 left to trim the lead to 65-62.  Tramel Barnes then ended the Peacock run with a pair of free throws, before UIU answered with another field goal to make the score 67-64 with 2:18 on the clock.

Miller then connected on a key jumper with just under two minutes left to make the score 69-64 and SMSU was able to seal the victory as Miller and Barnes combined to make five of six free throws in the final 1:13 to give SMSU its second straight win at Upper Iowa and its second road victory of the season.

SMSU made just 2 of 10 3-pointers, but committed just 10 turnovers and held a 30-26 rebound advantage.   

Jake Huges led UIU with 13 points.

Southwest Minnesota State returns home next weekend for a pair of games on Jan. 11-12.  SMSU opens the weekend on Friday night versus nationally-ranked St. Cloud State with tip-off set for 8 p.m., before facing Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night.