ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to earn a dramatic 69-68 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball on Friday night inside Wachs Arena.
 
NSU's Sam Masten, who scored a game-high 30 points, scored the game-winning lay-up with 4.2 seconds remaining. The field goal answered a three-point play by SMSU's Jake Phipps with 10 seconds left that put the Mustangs in front at 68-67.
 
SMSU drops to 9-6 overall, 5-5 NSIC, while NSU improves to 11-8, 5-6 NSIC. The Mustangs' scheduled game for Saturday night at MSU Moorhead was canceled due to COVID protocols.
 
SMSU, which was in complete control for 35 minutes of the game, held a 60-42 lead with just under nine minutes left in the game, but NSU answered with a 23-2 run over the next 5:47 to take the lead at 65-62 on a Masten 3-pointer with 2:47 left. Sam Schwartz would answer for the Mustangs with a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:22 on the clock, but once again NSU had an answer, taking advantage of an offensive rebound to regain the lead with 22 seconds left on a field goal by Augustin Reede.
 
Phipps, who scored a team-high 24 points, would put SMSU back in front on the ensuing possession with a three-point play, but following a timeout, Masten caught the in-bounds pass and raced the length of the court to score the game-winning field goal.
 
Phipps, who registered his fifth 20-point game of the season and the sixth of his career, made 10 of 15 field goal and grabbed six rebounds. Kenny Byers added 20 points on 9 of 12 shooting and pulled down six rebounds but fouled out with just over two minutes left in the game. Cliff McCray also reached double-figures in scoring with 11 points while dishing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds.
 
SMSU finished the game shooting an outstanding 55 percent (29 of 53) from the field but made just 4 of 16 from 3-point range. NSU closed the game shooting 39 percent (26 of 66) but connected on 11 3-pointers.
 
SMSU held a 34-30 rebound advantage with the Mustangs' Grant Kramer pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
 
NSU opened the game with a 3-pointer, but SMSU responded with 13 straight points, including eight by Phipps to build a 13-3 lead with 15 minutes left in the half.
 
The Mustangs would later use a 7-0 run midway through the half to extend the margin to 20-6. Following a 3-pointer by the Wolves, Schwartz connected on a 3-pointer for the Mustangs to spark a 7-2 run capped by a Byers lay-up to give SMSU its largest lead of the half at 27-11 with 5:24 remaining.
 
SMSU would maintain a 31-17 advantage with less than three minutes left in the half, but NSU fought back with an 8-2 run, including the final seven points, to close the half and cut the SMSU lead to 33-25 at halftime.
 
Phipps led the Mustangs with 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting in the opening half. SMSU closed the first half shooting 47 percent with two 3-pointers.
 
NSU shot just 27 percent in the first 20 minutes but made five 3-pointers.
 
SMSU would add to the lead early in the second half as Byers put down a slam-dunk in transition to make the score 43-32.
 
NSU would later trim the SMSU lead to 45-38 at the 13:30 mark, but SMSU countered with nine straight points, to extend the margin to 54-38. The lead would later move to 60-42 midway through the half following four points by Byers and a layup by McCray, but Masten's 3-pointer started the Wolves' dramatic run and come-from-behind victory.
 
Southwest Minnesota State returns to action next Friday, Jan. 21, taking on Minnesota Crookston with game time set for 7:30 p.m.