Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – For the second straight game, Southwest Minnesota State struggled from 3-point range, making just 2 of 19 from long-range and suffered a 75-67 loss to Minnesota State in NSIC men's basketball at the R/A Facility on Friday night.
 
SMSU, which dropped its second straight game, falls to 5-3 overall, 0-2 NSIC. MSU improves to 5-2 overall, 2-0 NSIC.
 
SMSU, which entered the game ranked first in Division II in 3-point field goal percentage at 49 percent, is a combined 10 of 41 from 3-point range in its two NSIC losses.
 
Ryan Bruggeman scored a career-high 36 points to pace the Mustang offense, making 13 of 23 field goals, while connecting on 9 of 10 from the free throw line. He moved into sole possession of third place in the SMSU career scoring list during the game, surpassing Jordan Miller. Bruggeman has now scored 1,580 points in 104 games
 
Kenny Byers (12) and Taylor Schafer (11) both reached double figures in scoring for SMSU, while Steven McNease led the squad with 12 rebounds.
 
SMSU closed the game shooting 40 percent (26 of 68) from the field and held a 39-33 rebound edge.
 
MSU shot 52 percent (31 of 60) from the field and connected on eight of 24 from 3-point range. Kevin Krieger scored 16 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, while Carlos Anderson added 16 points.
 
SMSU struggled shooting to open the game falling behind 12-4 in the opening six minutes. Kenny Byers scored four straight points followed by a layup by Bruggeman to trim the deficit at 12-10.
 
MSU would later build its largest lead of the half at 22-12 with 7:44 remaining, but seven straight points by Bruggeman, capped by a three-point play at the 5:58 mark cut the Maverick advantage to 22-19.
 
The Mavericks answered back and eventually took a 27-19 lead, but the Mustangs would rally and tie the game with just under a minute on the clock on a put-back field goal by McNease to make the score 31-31 heading into the halftime break.
 
SMSU shot 40 percent in the opening half, but made just 1 of 9 3-pointers. MSU shot 43 percent in the opening half with three 3-pointers.
 
Bruggeman scored 16 points in the first half on 7 of 12 shooting.
 
MSU stormed out of the gates to open the second half, jumping out to a 46-35 lead at the 15:56 mark. The Mavericks would later hold a 55-43 advantage midway through the half before the Mustangs rallied with six straight points to cut the deficit to 55-49 following a McNease layup with 8:17 remaining.
 
MSU would later hold a pair of 14-point leads, including 69-55 with three minutes left, but SMSU wouldn't go away and score nine straight points in two minutes to make the score 69-64 with one minute left in the game. With a chance to cut the MSU lead to one possession, SMSU turned the ball over with 50 seconds remaining and MSU made enough plays down the stretch to fend off SMSU and seal the victory.
 
Southwest Minnesota State concludes its nine-game season-opening homestand tomorrow night taking on Concordia-St. Paul (4-3, 0-2 NSIC) starting at 6 p.m.