WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Southwest Minnesota State University wheelchair basketball team with a 1-3 record this past weekend at the two-day University of Wisconsin-
Whitewater Tournament.
SMSU opened play on Friday with a 68-54 loss to the University of Illinois, before suffering an 83-59 loss to UWW. The Mustangs closed the day with a 62-52 victory over the University of Arizona. On Saturday, SMSU dropped a tight 65-58 contest to the University of Alabama.
In the opening game versus Illinois,
Walter Johnson scored 27 points on 12 of 16 shooting with two 3-pointers, while
Troy Beckford chipped in with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting. SMSU shot 60 percent in the game, but Illinois made five 3-pointers and was 10 of 16 from the free throw line. SMSU made just two 3-pointers and were 3 of 6 from the charity strip.
In the loss to UWW, Johnson would score 33 points on 11 of 20 from the field and 7 of 9 from the foul line. Beckford added 13 points on six field goals, while
Jacob Busch chipped in with five points.
Johnson had a huge game in the win over Arizona, making 16 of 23 field goals to score a game-high 37 points.
In the finale versus Alabama, Johnson once again recorded a monster game with 44 points on 18 of 32 shooting with five 3-pointers. Beckford, Busch and
Ezekiel Ramudzi each added four points.
Southwest Minnesota State will now be off for over a month before returning to the court on Jan. 14-15 with games in Omaha, Neb.
