BOX SCORE

DULUTH, Minn. – Vinard Birch and Mitch Weg combined for 27 points on 11 of 12 shooting to lead Southwest Minnesota State to an 87-62 road victory over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. Weg missed his first career double-double by one rebound as the redshirt freshman finished the game with 14 points, nine rebounds and one block.

Weg was a perfect all night as he finished 6 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 2 from the free throw line. Birch hit his first six shots but missed his final shot late in the game as the senior guard finished 6 of 7 and 1 of 2 from the charity stripe to finish with 13 points and four assists.

SMSU has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings with Minnesota Duluth.

SMSU finished shooting 53.3 percent (32 of 60) from the floor, including 18 of 31 in the first half alone. The Mustangs hoisted up 24 total 3-pointers with only six finding the bottom of the net (25.0%).

SMSU had seven players score in double figures with Nick Smith recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

SMSU committed a season-low five turnovers in the game, while the Bulldogs committed 10 on five SMSU steals.

Junior Coleman led UMD with a game-high 15 points.

The SMSU defense has allowed less than 65 points in four of the last five games.

With the score 34-33 with 4:36 remaining in the first half, SMSU exploded for a 14-2 run to close the half. Shaun Condon drained a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to make it 48-33, but Peter Crawford hit two free throws on the ensuing possession for the Bulldogs.

UMD took the lead down to nine after converting on its first two possessions, but SMSU responded with a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to pop the lead to 20 points. Condon hit a 3-pointer with 4:51 remaining to give SMSU the game's largest lead – 79-49. UMD hit some late 3-pointers, but SMSU coasted to a 85-64 road win.

SMSU will return to the R/A Facility next weekend for home matchups with Winona State and Upper Iowa.