BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State extended its winning streak to three straight – tying a season long - earning a 78-68 victory over Minot State on Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball.

SMSU (14-11, 11-7 NSIC) was led by Tramel Barnes, who scored a career-high 17 points on 6 of 6 shooting  with three rebounds, two steals and two assists.  Nick Smith finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while also racking up four blocked shots.  Smith recorded nine blocked shots this weekend and now has tied Jeremy VanKlompenburg for the SMSU career record with 117. Jordan Miller had a solid game for the Mustangs pouring in 15 points with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and two steals with Lavione West chipping in with 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field.

MISU (8-14, 7-11 NSIC), which dropped its third straight, was led by Josh Johnson's 12 points and 13 rebounds.

SMSU finished the game shooting 58 percent (26 of 45) from the field, including 4 of 11 from 3-point range.  SMSU struggled from the free throw, making just 22 of 32 attempts, including just 13 of 23 in the second half. 

MISU shot 41 percent (26 of 64) in the game, but was just 3 of 16 from 3-point range, while holding a 37-29 rebound advantage.

SMSU used a smothering defense to begin the game, limiting the Beavers to just two points in the first six and a half minutes as the Mustangs built a 9-2 lead.

SMSU pushed the lead to 18-6 at the 10:58 mark behind a jumper Lavione West and a 3-pointer from Miller.  SMSU twice push the lead to 15 points, including 25-10 with 7:21 remaining, before MISU used a 12-5 run to trim the deficit to 30-22 with 3:53 left in the half.

SMSU extended the lead to 10 points on two different occasions later in the half, before taking a 38-30 halftime lead.

The Mustangs shot 62 percent (13 of 21) in the opening half and were a perfect 9 of 9 from the free throw line.  The Beavers ended the first half shooting 38 percent (11 of 29), including just 1 of 8 from 3-point range.

The SMSU defense was strong again to begin the second half, holding the Beavers scoreless for the first four and a half minutes, but SMSU was able to scorer just four points in building a 42-30 lead.

MISU countered with a 13-4 run in a two-minute spurt to trim the SMSU lead to 46-43 at the 13:29 mark, but SMSU answered with five straight points to hold a 51-43 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

The Beavers made another run, this time cutting the deficit to 53-48 at the nine-minute mark, but again the Mustangs came back with their own mini-run but build back a 62-50 advantage with 7:20 remaining following a layup by Matt Zager.

Minot State cut the deficit to 70-64 with 1:02 left, but SMSU two field goals and four free throws to seal the victory.

Southwest Minnesota State continues its four-game homestand next weekend taking on Wayne State and Augustana.