WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Southwest Minnesota State wheelchair basketball closed out a busy weekend on Saturday with a pair of losses at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament. The Mustangs lost 65-41 to Texas Arlington in its first game on Saturday, before losing 78-67 to Illinois.
SMSU finished the two-day tournament with a 2-3 record after earning a pair of victories and suffering one loss in action on Friday. The Mustangs are now 4-5 on the season.
The Mustangs opened play on Friday morning with a 68-39 victory over Edinboro (Pa.).
Walter Johnson had a monster game for SMSU as he scored 43 points on 21 of 25 shooting and also grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Jesus Villa also reached double figure scoring with 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting with one 3-pointers. The Mustangs finished the game shooting 63 percent (33 of 54) from the field.
SMSU then lost 72-57 to the University of Missouri in its second game on Friday. Johnson once again paced the squad with 31 points on 15 of 25 from the field, while also adding nine rebounds and six assists. Villa added 20 points with six assists and five rebounds. SMSU closed the game shooting 47 percent from the field, but couldn't overcome Missouri's 64 percent shooting.
The Mustangs closed play on Friday with a 70-55 victory over Omaha with Villa and Johnson each scoring a team-high 20 points.
Ryan Kile and
Ezekiel Ramudzi each connected on six field goals and both finished with 12 points to help earn the victory for the Mustangs. Villa grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and dished out a team-high eight assists.
On Saturday's loss to UTA, the Mustangs shot just 33 percent from the field. Villa led the Mustangs with 16 points, while Johnson (11) and Kile (10) also reached double figures in scoring. Johnson snared a team-high 13 rebounds in the setback.
In the weekend's final game versus Illinois, Villa made 12 of 18 field goals and finished with 28 points. Kile had 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting, while Ramudzi also had 12 points.
Nicholas Herrington chipped in for the Mustangs with six points on three field goals. The Mustangs shot 60 percent from the field, but the Fighting Illini shot 54 percent and connected on eight 3-pointers.
Southwest Minnesota State returns to action in two weeks with four games on Dec. 6-7 at the University of Missouri Tournament.
