ST. PAUL, Minn. – Cliff Cofield scored a career-high 31 points, including 26 in the second half, to pace Southwest Minnesota State to a 79-69 non-conference victory over Truman State (Mo.) on Sunday afternoon inside the Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia-St. Paul. The game was part of the CSP Thanksgiving Tournament.
Cofield, who earlier this season scored 20 points in a win over No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State, finished the day making 10 of 14 field goals, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded three steals.
SMSU snapped a two-game losing skid with the victory and improves to 3-2 overall and is 0-1 in conference play.
Jake Phipps (11) and
Kyle Luedtke (10) also scored in double figures for the Mustangs, which played the game without second leading scorer,
Dunwa Omot, who was out with an injury. All eight Mustangs who played in the victory scored at least three points.
Aeron Stevens scored eight points with
Jakob Braaten adding seven, while
Mason Lund chipped in with six points.
SMSU closed the game shooting 46 percent (26 of 56) from the field, while connecting on 13 of 31 from 3-point range. The Mustangs held a 35-33 rebound advantage with Lund leading the way with a game-high seven.
Mekhi Shaw dished out a team-high six assists, while adding four rebounds and three points.
TSU (2-4), which defeated SMSU in Marshall last season, finished the game making 12 of 29 from 3-point land and shot 36 percent (20 of 55) from the field overall. Brennan Lovette led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 5 of 11 from the field with three 3-pointers.
TSU started the game red-hot from 3-point range making four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes to build a 16-9 advantage.
SMSU would rally with three 3-pointers by Luedtke, Stevens and
Matt Thompson over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to 21-18 with 9:26 left in the opening half. The Mustangs would hold the Bulldogs scoreless for a four-minute stretch and would regain the lead for the first time since the opening minute as Cofield and Stevens capped a 9-0 run to put SMSU in the lead at 24-21 at the 5:43 mark.
TSU would continue to drill 3-pointers and eventually regained the lead at 30-27, but a quick 6-0 run by SMSU capped by a Cofield 3-pointer lifted the Mustangs back in front at 33-30 and an eventual 33-32 halftime advantage.
Luetke would connect on a 3-pointer early in the second half to give the Mustangs a four-point lead, but the Bulldogs answered back and would hold a 40-39 advantage with 15 minutes remaining.
Cofield however would take over scoring eight straight points, including back-to-back three-point plays to give SMSU a 47-40 lead. The lead would expand minutes later as Shaw drilled a 3-pointer and was followed by two more Cofield 3-pointers to cap a 17-3 run and push the SMSU lead to 56-43 with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
Following a pair of TSU free throws, SMSU answered back on a fast-break dunk from Mason off an assist from Cofield and then another Cofield 3-pointer to extend the margin to 61-45.
TSU cut the deficit to 61-52 at the eight-minute mark, but a field goals by Cofield and Phipps and another 3-pointer by Cofield gave the Mustangs a cushion at 68-54 with 6:51 remaining.
The Bulldogs would attempt one more comeback, but with the Mustangs holding a 70-61 lead with 4:40 left, Lund hit a jumper and moments later Braaten drilled a 3-pointer, his only field goal of the game, to make the score 75-61 and secure the victory.
SMSU returns to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference next weekend with a pair of road games. The Mustangs will play Winona State (4-0, 1-0 NSIC) on Friday, Dec. 1, before taking on Minnesota State (6-0, 0-0 NSIC) on Saturday, Dec. 2.
