BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team got a pivotal 63-56 win over the Bemidji State University Beavers on Saturday evening in NSIC men's college basketball inside the BSU Gymnasium. It is the first win for the Mustangs in Bemidji since 2015.

SMSU moves to 16-10 overall and is now 13-7 in the NSIC. BSU drops to 13-13 overall and 9-11 in the NSIC.

Jake Phipps led SMSU with 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including 2 of 3 from deep while pulling down six rebounds and blocking a shot. Dunwa Omot and Aeron Stevens followed with 10 points apiece, with Omot making two 3-pointers and Stevens pulling down six rebounds. Four other Mustangs combined for 22 points in the win.

SMSU closed the game shooting 45 percent (25 of 56) from the field including 33 percent from 3-point land. 

Bemidji State shot 33 percent (19 of 58) from the field, including 7 of 28 from deep. The Beavers were led by Brayden Williams with 17 points and four rebounds.

The Mustangs opened the first half on a 7-0 run backed by Jake Phipps and Dunwa Omot. BSU responded with an 11-0 run of its own, limiting SMSU to 0 of 7 shooting from the field for nearly five minutes of play. Following the first media timeout, SMSU gained back the momentum with scores from Phipps, Braaten, and Stevens. BSU countered the Mustangs with a 9-7 run to reclaim the lead at 20-18 with 6:25 left in the half.

The Mustangs used a balanced attack between four players in the closing minutes of the first period. SMSU held BSU to 33 percent shooting while making 55 percent of its shots in the dwindling minutes. Omot and Braaten led SMSU from deep in pushing the score to 30-30 at the half.

SMSU controlled the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Mustangs went on a 21-9 run to push the score to 51-39 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Jake Phipps took over, scoring six of the 21 points with three layups. Cliff Cofield and Mekhi Shaw each chipped in four points on the run from a handful of layups. 

The Beavers came alive in the next three minutes of play, but the effort was too late to take back the lead. SMSU closed the game by scoring seven of the final 11 points, forcing BSU to send the Mustangs to the foul line.

UP NEXT

SMSU returns to the R/A Facility next weekend for its final two regular-season games versus Minot State and MSU Moorhead.