Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State connected on 15 3-pointers, with SMSU's Nick Dufault scoring a game-high 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting with six 3-pointers, to earn an 83-64 victory over Minot State in non-conference men's basketball on Friday night inside the R/A Facility.
 
Kaden Evans also had a big night for the Mustangs, scoring a career-high 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting with three 3-pointers. Jake Phipps added 13 points on 6 of 7 from the field, while Sam Schwartz chipped in with 11 points to help the Mustang charge.
 
SMSU is now 2-1 overall, while MSU drops to 1-2 overall. The two teams split a pair of games in Minot, N.D., last weekend. This weekend's games were added on Wednesday after SMSU's two games scheduled at Winona State and MSU's two home games versus Minnesota Duluth were canceled.
 
Max Cody led the Beavers with 16 points, while Melvin Newbern added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
SMSU finished the night shooting 62 percent (33 of 53) from field with the 15 3-pointers coming on 25 attempts. The Mustangs also dominated on the glass, holding a 33-20 rebound advantage, leading to a 15-2 scoring edge in second-chance points.
 
MSU closed the game shooting 47 percent (27 of 58) from the field, including 5 of 19 from 3-point range.
 
SMSU opened the game with a Cliff McCray 3-pointer and the hot-shooting would continue throughout the line-up as the Mustangs closed the first half making 9 of 13 from long range.
 
The game was tied at 13 with 12:51 left in the first half, but a Kaden Evans 3-pointer sparked an 11-2 run capped by a Dufault 3-pointer to give SMSU a 24-15 advantage with nine minutes left in the half.
 
MSU would rally to pull within 30-27 with 3:35 remaining in the half, but Schwartz connected on a 3-pointer to extend the lead to six, before Evans closed the half with a final second 3-pointer to give SMSU a 41-33 halftime lead.
 
SMSU shot a blistering 62 percent (16 of 26) in the opening half, while MSU finished the first 20 minutes shooting 50 percent (15 of 30).
 
SMSU had its lead cut to 41-37 in the opening two minutes of the second half, but a Dufault 3-pointer sparked a 20-6 run over the next seven minutes to push the lead to 61-43 with 11 minutes remaining in the game and the Mustangs never looked back.
 
McCray finished scoring eight points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds and added five assists. Noah Chamberlain poured in seven points for the Mustangs on 3 of 3 shooting with one 3-pointer.
 
The two teams conclude the weekend series tomorrow with a 2 p.m. game time inside the R/A Facility.