Box Score
MARSHALL, Minn. -- No. 19/22 ranked Southwest Minnesota State extended its winning streak to seven in a row—its longest streak since 2008-09—with a 79-55 home victory over Winona State on Friday night at the R/A Facility in NSIC men's basketball.
SMSU improves to 13-1 overall, 8-1 NSIC, and earns its first regular season sweep over WSU since the 2001-02 season.
WSU, which drops to 7-6 overall, 4-5 NSIC, shot just 34 percent from the field, the lowest by an SMSU opponent this season. The 55 points was also a season-low by an SMSU opponent.
SMSU shot 50 percent (30 of 60) on the night and connected on 8 of 25 3-pointers. SMSU dominated the boards, holding a 47-30 rebound advantage, which led to a 13-1 scoring advantage on second chance points.
Taylor Schafer poured in a team-high 20 points for the Mustangs, recording his third 20-point game of the season.
Carter Kirk added 15 points and nine rebounds, while
Joey Bartlett chipped in with 13 points and five rebounds.
Mitch Weg grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while
Ryan Bruggeman also had a strong game with seven points, six assists, three steals and zero turnovers.
WSU built an early 13-8 lead before SMSU countered with an 8-0 run, capped by a layup by Schafer to take a 16-13 advantage with 14 minutes left in the first half.
WSU scored four straight points to regain the lead, but SMSU answered with an 11-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 27-17 lead with 7:30 on the clock.
SMSU had its lead trimmed to 32-29 with 3:18 remaining in the half, but the Mustangs closed the half with a jumper from Bartlett and 3-pointers by Schafer and
Ryan Bruggeman to build a 40-29 halftime lead.
SMSU closed the opening half shooting 48 percent, while WSU shot just 37 percent.
The Mustangs held the Warriors scoreless in the first three minutes of the second half to build a 45-29 lead. WSU wouldn't go away and trimmed the deficit to 53-44 with 11 minutes left in the game, but SMSU rallied with an 8-0 run to push the lead to 61-44 at the eight-minute mark and cruised to the victory.
Tommy Gathje led the Warriors with 11 points.
Southwest Minnesota State closes the weekend tomorrow hosting Upper Iowa University with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
