Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Ryan Bruggeman poured in a career-high 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting with five 3-pointers to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 97-91 victory over Bemidji State in NSIC men's basketball on Friday night at the R/A Facility.
 
Mitch Weg added 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Mustangs, which finished shooting a season-high 61 percent (36 of 59) from the field.
 
SMSU (11-11, 7-10 NSIC) had six players score in double figures with Taylor Schafer (14), Joey Bartlett (12), Carter Kirk (11) and Shaun Condon (11) all reaching the mark. It was the first SMSU had six players score in double figures since Nov. 21, 2014, versus Jamestown.


BSU (10-11, 7-10 NSIC) was also red-hot from the field, finishing the contest shooting 59 percent (34 of 58) with eight 3-pointers. DJ Anderson and William Harvey each led the Beavers with 20 points.
 
SMSU finished with a 32-24 rebound advantage.
 
BSU held a 13-10 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half, before the Mustangs rallied with 12 straight points, which included six straight by Taylor Schafer, to give the SMSU a 22-13 lead at the 11:23 mark.
 
SMSU would take its first double-digit lead of the game at 26-15 with 10 minutes left, but BSU would slowly cut into the deficit, trimming the deficit to 43-39 with 3:46 remaining following back-to-back 3-pointers on the same possession.
 
SMSU answered in a big way using a 13-1 in just over 90 seconds to take its largest lead of the half at 56-40 with 1:07 on the clock, before taking a 56-44 halftime lead. The 56 points were a season-high in one half this season.
 
SMSU shot 72 perfect from the field in the opening half with Bruggeman pouring in 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range.
 
BSU trimmed the SMSU lead to 61-57 with 16:11 remaining in the game, but held off the charge and extended the lead to 76-67 following a pair of Condon free throws with 11:08 on the clock.
 
The Beavers wouldn't go away and answered with an 11-2 run in the next two and a half minutes to cut the Mustang lead to 79-78 at the 7:23 mark.
 
SMSU held a 81-80 advantage with 6:22 remaining before Weg hit a free throw and later scored a field goal to make the score 84-80.
 
SMSU maintained an 86-83 lead before Condon drilled a big 3-pointer to push the lead to 89-83 with 4:07 remaining.
 
BSU would cut the lead to 94-91 with 24 seconds left in the game, but two free throws by Schafer and another by Barlett in the final 20 seconds sealed the Mustang victory.
 
Southwest Minnesota State continues the weekend tomorrow night hosting Minnesota Crookston for the annual "Hawaiian Night" game starting at 7 p.m.