> Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State shot 53 percent from the field and held a 36-23 rebound advantage to earn an 83-65 victory over Wayne State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball on Friday night at the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU (9-4, 5-2 NSIC) had four players reach double figures in scoring with Joey Bartlett leading the way with 17 points and four steals. MJ Delmore scored 16 points with three 3-pointers and also dished out a team-high five assists. Mitch Weg added 14 points, while Cole Martin chipped in with 12 points.
 
Carter Kirk tied a career-high with nine rebounds to lead the Mustangs.
 
The Mustangs connected on 32 of 61 field goal attempts and made 9 of 24 from 3-point range. It was SMSU's seventh game this season shooting 50 percent or higher from the field.
 
WSC (3-10, 0-7 NSIC) was led by Trae VandeBerg, who poured in a team-high 17 points with five 3-pointers.
 
SMSU opened the game's scoring with a pair of 3-pointers by Bartlett and Martin, but WSC quickly answered to take its only lead of the game at 10-9 following a 3-pointer by Tyler Nagy with 16 minutes and 20 seconds remaining.
 
SMSU countered back with a 14-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 23-12 advantage at the 11:47 mark.
 
WSC rallied to make the score 23-16, but another big run by SMSU—this time using a 17-3 spurt—built the lead to 40-19 with 4:25 remaining  capped by a dunk from Kirk.
 
SMSU held a 44-26 halftime lead, shooting 50 percent from the field and holding a 22-10 rebound advantage.
 
The Mustangs maintained control in the second half with the lead never dipping below 14 points for the remainder of the game. SMSU built its largest lead of the game at 76-49 with 6:54 remaining following a three-point play by Bartlett.
 
Southwest Minnesota State continues its weekend homestand tomorrow night taking on No. 13 Augustana College (12-1, 6-1 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.