Box Score

FAYETTE, Iowa – Southwest Minnesota State rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to stun Upper Iowa 87-81 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference  men's basketball on Saturday night.
 
UIU, which led by 12 at halftime, extended the lead to 62-45 with 14 minutes left in the game before SMSU started its comeback and snap a three-game losing streak to UIU.
 
Mitch Weg led the Mustangs with 17 points and five rebounds, while Taylor Schafer and Shaun Condon each added 12 points. Joey Bartlett also reached double figures in scoring with 10 points, with all 10 coming in the second half. Weg, Bartlett and Josh Weix each grabbed five rebounds to pace the Mustangs.
 
SMSU (5-2, 1-1 NSIC) finished the game shooting 55 percent (33 of 60) from the field, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. SMSU struggled from the free throw line, making just 15 of 26 (58 percent).
 
UIU (5-6, 1-2 NSIC) shot 46 percent (29 of 63) in the game, but were held to just 39 percent in the second half. The Peacocks finished the night connecting on 12 3-pointers. Last night, Winona State connected on 14 3-pointers in its 86-75 win over SMSU.
 
Jimmy Roth led the Peacocks with 20 points.
 
The teams played a tight opening 14 minutes of the game with nine lead changes and six ties. SMSU took its last lead of the opening half on a Michael Lee three-point play with six minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the to make the score 30-27.
 
UIU then exploded and used a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 37-30 advantage. Following a dunk by SMSU's Carter Kirk with four minutes left, the Peacocks closed the half with a 15-8 run to build a 52-40 halftime advantage.
 
UIU connected on 8 of 15 3-pointers in the opening half and shot 53 percent from the field. SMSU also shot well in the half, shooting 55 percent, but made just three 3-pointers and made just 5 of 12 from the free throw line.
 
Trailing 62-45 with 14 minutes left in the game, SMSU started its run as Turner Moen hit two free throws, Schafer drilled a jumper and Carter Kirk converted a three-point play to cut the lead to 62-52 with 12:11 remaining.
 
UIU would make the score 66-52 at the 11-minute mark, but SMSU rallied with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes—capped by a Schafer 3-pointer—to cut the deficit to 68-66 with seven minutes remaining.
 
Following a field goal by UIU, Kirk scored on a field goal and moments later Schafer drilled a 3-pointer to give SMSU a 71-70 lead with 5:38 left.
 
The Peacocks regained the lead on a 3-poitner, but Schafer—who scored 10 points in the second half—quickly answered to tie the game at 73-all. After UIU missed a field goal, Condon answered with a 3-pointer to give SMSU the lead at 76-73 with 4:20 left and the Mustangs never trailed again. Ryan Bruggeman, who dished out a team-high five assists for the Mustangs, pushed the lead to 79-73 less than a minute later completing a three-point play.
 
Southwest Minnesota State continues league play on Tuesday night at the University of Sioux Falls. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 1, but was postponed due to weather. The game will begin at 7 p.m. at the Stewart Center.