Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – MSU Moorhead closed the game on a 20-3 in the final nine minutes of the game to earn a 67-52 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in NSIC men's college basketball on Friday night inside the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU, which has lost six straight home games, led 49-47 with 9:33 left in the game, but went eight minutes without scoring a field goal, as MSUM improved to 15-8 overall, 11-6 NSIC.
 
SMSU, which committed 16 turnovers, falls to 7-16 overall, 4-13 NSIC. MSUM finished the game holding a 28-9 scoring edge in points off turnovers.
 
Grant Kramer led the Mustangs with 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting with three 3-pointers. Cliff McCray added 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting. SMSU's leading scorer Kenny Byers, was limited to two points on 1 of 8 shooting. Jake Phipps grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and chipped in with eight points for the Mustangs.
 
The Mustangs finished the night shooting 49 percent (22 of 45) from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
 
The Dragons shot 53 percent (27 of 51) and connected on 6 of 16 from 3-point range. MSUM was led by Gavin Baumgartner's 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting with three 3-pointers.
 
SMSU scored the first five points of the game, but MSUM rallied with a 17-2 run to build a 17-7 advantage with 11:27 left in the half.
 
MSUM would later expand the lead to 21-9, but SMSU fought back and cut the deficit to 24-17 at the 7:43 mark following a McCray layup. The Dragons would once again build a double-digit advantage with six minutes left in the half, before SMSU would twice cut the lead to seven points later in the half, including 33-26 with 2:53 remaining following a Nick Dufault jumper.
 
MSUM, which shot 64 percent in the half, held a 37-26 lead late in the half until SMSU's Grant Kramer hit a jumper to close the half and cut the MSUM lead to 37-29 at halftime.
 
SMSU shot 44 percent in the half with five 3-pointers, but SMSU's eight turnovers led to 15 points for MSUM.
 
The Dragons held a 42-31 with 17:55 left in the game before the Mustangs rallied to regain the lead. Dufault started the run with a jumper that sparked an 11-1 run over four minutes to pull SMSU to within 43-42 with 13:37 remaining after a pair of Weston Baker Magrath free throws.
 
SMSU regained the lead for the first time since early in the game as Kramer drilled a 3-pointer with 11:23 left to give the Mustangs a 47-46 advantage. McCray would later hit a jumper to put SMSU back in front at 49-47, but the Dragons would limited the Mustangs to just one more field goal the remainder of the game.
 
Southwest Minnesota State will host Northern State on Saturday night for the annual "Hawaiian Night" game with tip-off set for 6 p.m.