MARSHALL, Minn. – Minnesota State shot 55 percent from the field and connected on 12 3-pointers to help earn a 95-67 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball on Sunday afternoon at the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU, which dropped its third straight game, falls to 2-4 overall, 0-2 NSIC. The Mustangs played its second straight game without three starters due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
MSU, which earned a 60-40 win over SMSU on Saturday, bumps its record to 6-2 overall, 5-1 NSIC. Quincy Anderson led the Mavericks with 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Malik Willingham added 17 points with three 3-pointers.
 
Nick Dufault led the way for the Mustangs scoring 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, while Kaden Evans scored 15 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Alex Hillesheim made 5 of 9 field goals to finish with 13 points and grabbed a team-leading six rebounds with teammate Jake Phipps also reaching double figures in scoring with 12 on 6 of 10 shooting.
 
SMSU finished the day shooting 46 percent (26 of 57) from the field, while making 7 of 22 from 3-point range.
 
For the second straight game MSU used a quick start to build an early double-digit lead, holding a 15-4 advantage just four and a half minutes into the game. The lead pushed to 23-11 at the 11:23 mark before SMSU rallied back to make it a one possession game.
 
Dufault connected on a 3-pointer at the 11-minute mark to spark a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to 25-23. Dufault scored seven straight points, while Evans drilled a 3-pointer during the run.
 
The Mustangs trailed 28-25 with 5:30 left in the half, but just like during Saturday's loss, SMSU would go scoreless for a long stretch and MSU took advantage. MSU would reel off 16 straight points to make the score 44-25 at the 1:46 mark. Hillesheim stopped the scoring run and was later followed by a layup by Dufault and a lay-up by Logan Benson, but MSU would build a 46-31 halftime lead.
 
MSU shot 51 percent in the opening half, while SMSU shot 50 percent. The Mustangs committed nine turnovers in the first half which led to 15 points off of turnovers for the Mavericks.
 
Phipps scored a pair of early second half field goals to cut the SMSU deficit to 48-35, but MSU countered with 9-3 run to extend the margin to 57-38 with 15:36 left in the game and never looked back in earning its seventh straight win over SMSU.
 
Southwest Minnesota State resumes NSIC play next Friday and Saturday with road games versus Concordia-St. Paul (1-5, 0-4 NSIC). Friday's game begins at 6 p.m., while Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m.