FAYETTE, Iowa – The No. 18 Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team kicked off the Peacock Classic with a key 68-56 non-conference win over the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats on Saturday afternoon inside Dorman Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Upper Iowa University.

SMSU is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when the team won its first six games.

NWMSU, a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association conference member, falls to 1-4 on the year.

SMSU, which shot 37.5 percent (24 of 64) from the field, was limited to four 3-pointers on the day while the Bearcats made eight. The Mustangs balanced the difference beyond the arc by forcing fouls in the paint, leading the free-throw category with 16 makes on 19 attempts, compared to NWMSU's two makes on only five attempts.

Jakob Braaten led SMSU offensively with 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting (54 percent) and three steals while helping on the boards with eight rebounds. Aeron Stevens supported Braaten with 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting (50 percent) and helped on the glass with nine rebounds.

Steven Kramer and Mekhi Shaw each chipped in 10 points. Kramer grabbed seven rebounds and was a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe while Shaw swiped a pair of steals.

NWMSU was led by Spencer Schomers, who poured in 15 points with three 3-pointers and eight rebounds. Marcus Glock was the only other Bearcat to reach double figures, chipping in 11 points with a pair of rebounds.

Stevens and Kramer combined for nine points in the first four minutes of play to give SMSU an 11-6 lead at 15:55 in the first half. A layup from Mason Lund paired with a Shaw free throw boosted the margin to nine points with 15 minutes to go. The Mustangs would limit the Bearcats to five points over the following five minutes in building a 10-point lead with nine and a half minutes left in the first frame.

The next 12 points would be traded evenly leading into the third media timeout of the half. Coming out of the timeout, Kramer drove through the lane and got a layup to settle the score at 26-16. NWMSU would fumble its next three possessions and SMSU took advantage by using to Shaw buckets to lead by 14 with four minutes left. 

The Bearcats closed the first half on a 7-2 run to keep the game within reach entering the second half.

The SMSU lead would dwindle to three points through the first seven minutes of the second half until the Mustangs stormed back with an 11-2 run capped off by a Braaten 3-pointer to increase the margin to 53-39.

NWMSU used a pair of layups and a 3-pointer to draw the game back to within six points at 56-50, but the effort would prove to be too little. The Bearcats would be forced to foul down the stretch, with Shaw, Kramer, and Braaten sealing the deal at the free-throw line.

SMSU wraps up the Peacock Classic tomorrow with a game against the host, Upper Iowa, with tip-off set for 3 p.m.