MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with an 81-66 non-conference victory over defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Minnesota State on Saturday evening inside the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU, which never trailed in the game and built a 23-point lead in the second half, has won its first three games to open a season for the first time since the 2016-17 team won its first six games.
 
Aeron Stevens led the Mustangs with 25 points on 8 of 17 shooting with six rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Dunwa Omot recorded his 17^th career 20-point game with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting including a perfect 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Jakob Braaten added 10 points, four assists and recorded a career-high five steals.
 
Mekhi Shaw also had a strong game for the Mustangs scoring nine points with four assists and two rebounds.
 
SMSU, which shot 61 percent in the opening half in building a 51-36 halftime advantage, closed the night shooting 49 percent (30 of 61) with 10 3-pointers.
 
MSU, which entered the game having lost three games to nationally ranked opponents, drops to 1-4 overall. The Mavericks shot 42 percent (28 of 66) from the field, including 7 of 26 from 3-point range. Malcom Jones came off the bench to pace MSU with 13 points and eight rebounds. Caden Kirkman and Will Opsahl each added 12 points.
 
The two teams will meet again in Mankato on Dec. 13 for a conference match-up. It's the only NSIC game between the two teams this season.
 
SMSU jumped out an early lead with Omot connecting on a 3-pointer to make the score 9-3 with just over four minutes gone in the first half. The margin would ballon to double digits midway through the half at 28-15 following a layup by Stevens and a 3-pointer by Omot.
 
SMSU continued to build on the lead pushing the score to 37-19 following a 3-pointer by Caleb Schlaak at the 5:50 mark. MSU countered with back-to-back 3-pointers, but a layup by Shaw and a 3-pointer by Mason Lund pushed the SMSU lead to 42-25.
 
Stevens hit a 3-pointer late in the half to give SMSU another 18-point lead, but Kyreese Willingham, the preseason NSIC player of the year, drilled a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the SMSU lead to 51-36 at halftime.
 
SMSU used outstanding defense in the opening four minutes of the second half, which included a 9-1 run capped by a Shaw layup, to take its largest lead of the game at 60-37.
 
MSU wouldn't go away and used a 23-10 run over a 10-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 70-60 with 6:13 remaining. Both teams went scoreless over the next two minutes before Stevens helped ice the game with a field goal and four straight free throws to make the score 76-62 with 3:18 left.
 
Kirkman would score for MSU with just over three minutes left, but SMSU used a pair of offensive rebounds on its next possession to allow Omot to drill a 3-pointer with 2:15 left in the game to seal the victory.
 
SMSU, which defeated MSU a combined four times during the 2021-23 season, suffered three losses to MSU last season, including a one-point setback in the NSIC tournament semifinals.
 
SMSU continues non-conference play next Saturday in Fayette, Iowa, taking on long-time Division II powerhouse, Northwest Missouri State, with tip-off set for 1 p.m. NWMSU defeated SMSU in the NCAA tournament last season in Mankato. The Mustangs will then face Upper Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 24.