Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Joey Bartlett scored a season-high 26 points, while Carter Kirk tied a school record with six blocked shots to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 94-76 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Friday night in NSIC men's basketball.
 
SMSU shot 59 percent in the second half, including 9 of 12 from 3-point range. The Mustangs improvev to 8-1 overall, 3-1 NSIC. It's SMSU's best start after nine games in program history.
 
Bartlett finished the night making 7 of 12 shots with five 3-pointers. Kirk finished with 16 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season. Taylor Schafer also scored 16 points with four 3-pointers, while Michael Lee rounded out SMSU's double figure scorers with 10 points.
 
Ryan Bruggeman dished out a season-high eight assists to pace the Mustang offense.
 
SMSU, which shot just 34 percent in the first half, finished the game making 30 of 64 shots for 47 percent and made 13 of 23 3-pointers.
 
UMD (1-6, 1-2 NSIC) was led by Luke Harris, who poured in a team-high 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting with five 3-pointers.
 
UMD jumped to an early 13-4 lead in the first seven minutes and maintained the lead until KJ Davis tied the game at 21 with 8:10 left in the half.
 
UMD would answer with five straight points to lead 26-21, but SMSU came right back with an 11-0 run with included three-pointers by Drew Osmundson, a pair by Schafer, and capped by a Kirk field goal to build a 32-26 lead at the 4:56 mark.
 
UMD rallied back to regain the lead at 33-32, but a 7-0 run capped by a three-point play by Davis gave SMSU a 39-33 lead, before settling for a 44-38 halftime lead.
 
SMSU shot just 34 percent (11 of 32) in the first half, but made 18 of 20 free throws. UMD shot 44 percent in the first half and connected on seven 3-pointers.
 
SMSU held a 47-46 lead two minutes into the second half before Bartlett scored nine straight points, including connecting on a pair of 3-pointers. Lee capped then capped an 11-0 run by SMSU with a 3-pointer to make the score 58-46 with 15 minutes left in the game.
 
UMD came back with another 3-pointer to trim the deficit to nine points, but a 3-pointer by Schafer gave the Mustangs a 12-point advantage and the lead never dropped below double digits the remainder of the game.
 
Southwest Minnesota State continues the home weekend tomorrow taking on St. Cloud State (6-5, 3-0 NSIC) starting at 7 p.m.