BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State shot 53 percent and limited Sioux Falls to a season-low scoring and shooting percentage to earn a 63-51 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory on Saturday night at the R/A Facility.

SMSU (7-5, 4-2 NSIC) was led by Shaun Condon's 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. The Mustangs – who never trailed in the game - shot 58 percent in the second half, building a 20-point lead, only to see the Cougars rally back to cut the deficit to seven points, but it wasn't enough as SMSU improved to 11-0 all-time at home versus USF.

Joey Bartlett and Matt Zager each added 10 points in SMSU's balanced scoring attack, while Nick Smith and William Giddings each chipped in with eight points. Mitch Weg grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while Vinard Birch dished out a game-high six assists and is now just two shy of tying Jordan Miller for second all-time in assists at SMSU with 321.

USF (5-5, 2-4 NSIC) dropped its fourth straight game and shot just 34 percent (16 of 47) from the field. USF entered the game averaging 85 points per game, while shooting 46 percent from the field. Cutler Finneman led the Cougars with nine points on 4 of 7 shooting.

SMSU jumped out to a quick start to begin the game scoring the first eight points highlighted by 3-pointers from Bartlett and Zager.

SMSU would continue to pour it on in the first 10 minutes pushing the lead to 25-6 with nine minutes and 43 seconds remaining following back-to-back 3-pointers by Giddings and Condon.

USF countered with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to trim the deficit to 25-15, before Condon ended the run with a three-point play to make the score 28-15. Drew Osmundson gave SMSU a 32-16 advantage with 4:37 remaining with a layup, before USF hit a pair of 3-pointers to close the half and cut the SMSU lead to 34-22 at halftime.

The Mustangs shot 50 percent (13 of 26) from the field in the opening half with five 3-pointers in nine attempts, while the Cougars shot just 29 percent (6 of 21) in the half. SMSU held an 18-11 rebound margin and outscored USF 16-4 on points in the paint.

SMSU held a 34-24 lead early in the second half before reeling off a 12-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by Bartlett and a three-point play by Condon to build its largest lead of the game at 46-26 at the 13:51 mark.

USF would then step up the defense and limit SMSU to just four points over the next three and a half minutes to cut the deficit to 50-41 with 8:34 remaining. SMSU would extend the lead to 53-41 with 7:58 left on a Zager layup, before USF answered with five quick points to make the score 53-46 with six minutes remaining.

A Mitch Weg free throw ended the USF run and was followed by a layup by Osumundson to push the lead back to double digits with five minutes left. The Cougars wouldn't go away and cut the lead to 59-51 with 2:00 left, but a layup by Condon, a missed 3-poitner by USF and a layup by Giddings sealed the victory for the Mustangs.

Southwest Minnesota State will now have nearly two weeks off before returning to action on Jan. 3, 2014, hosting Northern State.