BOX SCORE
MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State shot a season-high 62.3 percent and recorded a season-high 19 assists to earn an 83-57 non-conference victory over Wisconsin-La Crosse on Thursday night at the R/A Facility.
SMSU (6-5) was led by
Nick Smith, who poured in a game-high 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting and recorded his second 20-point scoring game of the season.
Shaun Condon and
William Giddings each added 12 points for the Mustangs, while
Vinard Birch,
Matt Zager and
Drew Osmundson each dished out five assists.
Travis Meinders, appearing in his first game for the Mustangs, scored nine points on 4 of 5 shooting, while Zager added nine points.
UW-L (7-2), which had a four-game winning streak snapped, was led by Luke Tweed's 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting.
SMSU finished the game connecting on 33 of 53 shots, including 5 of 12 from 3-point range. SMSU held a 32-25 rebound advantage and forced UW-L into 16 turnovers.
Both teams started the game red-hot from the field in the opening half as the team's played to a 19-19 tie in the game's first seven and a half minutes.
UW-L took its first lead of the game at 24-23 following a 3-pointer by Calahan Skogman with 10:26 remaining, but SMSU rallied with a 9-0 run capped by a Giddings 3-pointer to give the Mustangs a 32-24 advantage with 7:48 left in the half.
SMSU would later extend the lead to 14 points at 44-30, before settling for a 47-34 halftime lead. SMSU shot 68 percent (19 of 28) in the first half, while UW-L shot 52 percent (14 of 27).
SMSU would push the lead to 51-36 in the first two and a half minutes of the second half before UW-L put together an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 51-44 at the 14:47 mark. SMSU maintained a 55-48 lead with 13:35 remaining before holding the Eagles scoreless for more than four minutes to build a 61-48 lead.
SMSU would push the lead to 75-50 with 4:39 left in the contest after limiting UW-L to just two points for more than nine minutes in the second half. The Mustang defense limited the Eagles to just 30 percent shooting in the second half.
SMSU returns to NSIC play on Saturday afternoon hosting Sioux Falls at the R/A Facility starting at 4 p.m. USF defeated SMSU 87-83 in the conference opener on Nov. 30 in Sioux Falls.
