BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Lavione West tied a career-high with 19 points, including scoring 15 in the second half, to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 77-64 victory over the University of Mary on Friday in NSIC men's basketball.

SMSU (13-11, 10-7 NSIC), which trailed 36-32 at halftime, scored 45 points in the second half, including shooting 62 percent.

West finished the night making 8 of 13 shots and also recorded three steals and two blocked shots.  Jordan Buddenhagen, who was making his first career start, scored a career-high 14 points with four 3-pointers.  Jordan Miller added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Tramel Barnes rounded out SMSU's double figure scoring with 11 points and five rebounds.

Josh Turner scored a season-high 30 points for the University of Mary (3-18, 2-15 NSIC), which has lost 12 straight.  Turner connected on 9 of 17 shots from the field, including 8 of 19 3-pointers.   The Marauders finished the game making 12 of 24 3-pointers and shooting 40 percent from the field.

SMSU finished the game shooting 53 percent (30 of 57) from the field, drilling seven 3-pointers on 19 attempts.  The Mustangs forced UMary into 20 turnovers, leading to 30 points for SMSU.

West gave SMSU a 12-11 lead with 12 minutes and 50 seconds left in the opening half, starting a 13-2 run over the next five and a half minutes that gave SMSU a 23-13 lead with 7:30 remaining following a 3-pointer by Jordan Buddenhagen.

The lead was short-lived though as UMary rallied with a 14-0 run to build a 27-23 advantage with 4:19 on the clock after a Turner 3-pointer.  The Marauders extended the lead to 33-26 – capping a 20-3 run - before SMSU closed the halftime deficit to 36-32.

UMary connected on seven 3-pointers in the opening half and held a 20-15 rebound margin.

The teams exchanged the lead several times in the first six minutes of the second half before a West dunk off of a steal gave SMSU the lead for good at 48-47 with 14:19 remaining in the game.  The field goal started a 10-0 run that pushed the Mustang lead to 56-47 at the 10-minute mark.

UMary cut the SMSU lead to 63-55 with a Turner 3-pointer with 6:45 remaining, but SMSU sealed the victory with a quick 5-0 run capped off by a West three-point play to extend the margin to 68-55.

SMSU starter Matt Zager missed the game due to an injury.

Southwest Minnesota State continues its four-game homestand tomorrow night taking on Minot State (8-13, 7-10 NSIC) with game time set for 7 p.m.