WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. –  Lake Superior State snapped a 58-58 score with two free throws with just under two minutes left in the game and would hold off Southwest Minnesota State, 67-61, in men's non-conference college basketball on Monday night inside the Justagame Fieldhouse.
 
LSSU, which never trailed in the game, improves to 7-2 overall, while SMSU, which shot a season-low 38 percent, had its three-game win streak snapped and drops to 7-5 overall.
 
SMSU trailed by 13 points early in the second half and would later trail, 58-49, with just over five minutes left in the game before making a strong comeback attempt to tie the game. Mason Lund started a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer before Cliff Cofield scored two field goals and two free throws to tie the game at 58 with 2:21 remaining.  
 
LSSU answered on the ensuing with Hunter Soper drawing a foul and making two free throws at the 1:49 mark. Cofield would make one of two free throws moments later to make the score 60-59, but on the Lakers's next possession, Xander Okerlund, who scored a team-high 16 points, drilled a 3-pointer with just over a minute left in the game and extend the lead to four points.
 
Cofield would make two free throws with 47 seconds left to cut the LSSU lead to 63-61, but LSSU would have another big answer as Kingsley Perkins made a field goal with 18 second left to make the score 65-61. SMSU would miss a field goal moments later to seal the LSSU victory.
 
Aeron Stevens scored 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting to pace the Mustangs, while Cofield (15) and Jake Phipps (14) also reached double figure scoring. The Mustangs closed the game making just 21 of 55 field goals, including 4 of 16 from 3-point range.
 
LSSU ended the night shot 45 percent (24 of 53) from the field, while making 9 of 25 from 3-point range.  
 
SMSU struggled for much of the first half with LSSU opening the game building a 17-6 advantage in the first four and a half minutes. Kyle Luedtke hit a big 3-pointer and was followed by a field goal from Stevens to pull the Mustangs to within 17-11, but LSSU answered with an 8-2 run to build its largest lead of the half at 25-13 with 11 minutes remaining.
 
The Lakers would maintain the advantage, including 27-16 midway through the half, before the Mustangs used strong defense to pull within five points. Dunwa Omot started a six-point spurt by the Mustangs with a field goal and was followed by two free throws by Cofield and a Phipps layup to cut the deficit to 27-22 with six minutes remaining. SMSU however struggled offensively ending the half making just one field goal in the final six minutes, a last-second layup by Mekhi Shaw, to trail 34-24 at halftime.  
 
SMSU shot just 33 percent in the opening half, while the 24 points scored was the fewest by the team this season.
 
LSSU pushed the lead to 44-31 in the opening five minutes of the second half. SMSU would fight back and cut the LSSU lead to 52-49 with 6:30 left after Phipps drilled a 3-pointer, but LSSU answered back with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the margin to 58-49. SMSU would then respond and eventually tied the game.
 
SMSU concludes the two-day event on Tuesday with a 3 p.m. match-up versus Maryville University (Mo.).