Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State limited Concordia-St. Paul to just 30 percent shooting and returned to the win column on Friday night with an 81-56 victory in NSIC men's basketball at the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU (15-3, 10-2 NSIC) shot 53 percent in the second half and held CSP (4-16, 1-12 NSIC) to just 23 percent in the final 20 minutes in blowing open a 36-30 halftime lead.
 
Carter Kirk paced the Mustangs with his team-leading sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, making 6 of 7 field goal attempts. Joey Bartlett came off the bench to score 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting with five rebounds, while Michael Lee (14), Ryan Bruggeman (13) and Taylor Schafer (11) also finished in double figure scoring. Drew Osmundson also had a strong game for the Mustangs with a career-high eight assists.
 
SMSU closed the night shooting 49 percent (32 of 65), including 8 of 24 from 3-point range, while also holding a 44-33 rebound advantage.
 
CSP made 16 of 53 field goal attempts with five 3-pointers.
 
SMSU struggled early, falling behind 8-0 in the first three and a half minutes. CSP would continue to lead until Bruggeman completed a three-point play with 8:07 on the clock to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 18-17.
 
CSP would later regain the lead at 23-22, but a layup by Mitch Weg and 3-pointer by Schafer put SMSU in the lead at 27-23. Following four free throws by CSP, the Mustangs countered with a jumper by Bartlett and a 3-pointer and layup by Lee to give SMSU its largest lead of the half at 34-27 at the 1:46.
 
SMSU shot 45 percent in the opening half and limited CSP to just 37 percent shooting.
 
The Mustangs opened the second half scoring the first five points and never looked back in earning its largest margin of victory this season. CSP cut the deficit to 42-35 with 18:28 remaining, but SMSU answered with an 8-0 run capped by back-to-back layups by Schafer and Kirk to extend the lead to 50-35 at the 14:46 mark.
 
Bryndan Matthews, who scored a team-high 16 points, led CSP, which has lost 10 straight games.
 
Southwest Minnesota State will host Minnesota State (13-6, 8-5 NSIC) tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the R/A Facility.