Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – The University of Mary held off a Southwest Minnesota State comeback attempt to earn a 91-82 victory in NSIC men's basketball on Friday night at the R/A Facility.
 
U-Mary (6-2, 3-1 NSIC) built a 19-point lead midway through the second half before SMSU (5-4, 1-3 NSIC) rallied to pull within six points with one minute left in the game, but it wasn't enough as the Marauders earned their first-ever win in Marshall in eight tries.
 
U-Mary finished the game shooting 53 percent (31 of 59) from the field, including 9 of 17 on 3-pointers. Bryan Jefferson scored a game-high 18 points for the Marauders, while Marquealis Edwards poured in 16 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Four Mustangs scored in double figures with MJ Delmore, Taylor Schafer and Joey Bartlett all scoring 12 points, while Mitch Weg chipped in with 11 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
 
SMSU shot 43 percent (29 of 68) in the game, but were just 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) from 3-point range.
 
Both teams struggled shooting in the opening four minutes as the score was tied at 4-4 with 15 minutes and 48 seconds left in the half.
 
SMSU broke a 10-all game with 13:22 left in the half with a 12-7 run to take its largest lead of the game at 22-17. The Mustangs would later hold a 25-21 advantage at the 8:37 mark before the Marauders rallied with a 23-6 run over the next six minutes to take a 44-31 lead. U-Mary would take a 49-35 lead into the halftime.
 
The Marauders would maintain the double digit lead, including pushing the margin to 69-50 with 10 minutes left in the game. SMSU still trailed 80-62 with five minutes remaining before the Mustangs fought back with a 19-7 run to—capped by a Josh Weix dunk—to make the score 87-81. But U-Mary was able to hold off the comeback attempt with clutch free throws in the game's final minute.
 
Southwest Minnesota State continues its weekend homestand tomorrow facing Minot State (4-5, 0-4 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.