MARSHALL, Minn. – Kenny Byers scored a team-high 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists to pace Southwest Minnesota State to a big 81-71 victory over Minnesota State in NSIC men's college basketball on Friday night inside the R/A Facility.
 
Dunwa Omot added 17 points with three 3-pointers, while Anthony Costello came off the bench to score 10 points to pace the Mustangs.
 
SMSU, which improves to 12-8 overall, 8-7 NSIC, shot 55 percent (33 of 60) from the field and made 9 of 18 from 3-point range. The Mustangs were red-hot in the second half shooting 62 percent (18 of 29) from the field.
 
MSU, which drops to 13-7 overall, 6-7 NSIC, was led by Quincy Anderson's 24 points and seven rebounds.
 
Jake Phipps scored eight points and dished out a career-high seven assists to help the Mustang cause, with teammate Grant Kramer adding nine points on three 3-pointers.
 
SMSU held a 20-19 advantage midway through the first half before Cliff McCray started a 7-0 run with a jumper and was followed by a field goal from Costello and Omot 3-pointer to make the score 27-19 with 7:58 remaining.
 
MSU would battle back and tie the game on two occasions late in the half before Byers made a lay-up late in the half to give the Mustangs a 38-36 halftime lead.
 
Both teams shot well to open the second half with MSU's Malik Willingham hitting a 3-pointer to give the Mavericks a 54-50 advantage with 13:24 remaining in the game.
 
Logan Benson answered with a big field goal and moments later Sam Schwartz followed with a layup off a turnover to tie the game at 54. The game would remain tied until Byers converted a three-point play at the 10:49 mark to push the Mustangs back into the lead at 57-54.
 
SMSU would hold a 59-58 margin before using another big run to build a double-digit lead. Byers started the run with a dunk and was followed up a minute later with a 3-pointer by Benson. Byers pushed the lead with another layup and Costello would add another field goal in the paint to extend the lead to 68-58 with six minutes remaining.
 
SMSU would eventually build an 11-point lead with just over three minutes left, but MSU would counter with one final push. The Mavericks would make the score 75-71 with 1:48 on the clock, but Omot connected on a jumper to stop the MSU spurt and start a game-clinching 6-0 run by the Mustangs.
 
Southwest Minnesota State closes the weekend on Saturday hosting Concordia-St. Paul for the annual 'Tropical Night' game with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m.