MARSHALL, Minn. – Mekhi Shaw poured in a career-high 23 points and tied a career-high with six steals to help Southwest Minnesota State pull away late in the second half and earn a 78-66 victory over Minnesota State in men's college basketball on Thursday night inside the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU earned its fifth straight victory and pushes its record to 7-4 overall, 5-1 NSIC, while dropped its second straight and falls to 7-7 overall, 1-5 NSIC.
 
SMSU, which led the game for more than 37 minutes, used a 16-3 run with less than seven minutes remaining to snap a tie and earn the victory. Shaw started the run snapping a 54-all tie with a layup at the 6:40 mark and followed less than a minute later with a 3-pointer to make the score 59-54. Shaw finished the game-deciding run with 10 of the 16 points to help SMSU eventually build a 70-57 lead with 2:29 remaining. Shaw ended the game making a career-high 10 field goals on 14 attempts, while tying a career-high with three 3-pointers. 
 
SMSU finished the game with four players reaching double figures in scoring. Micah Schlaak made 6 of 8 shots from the field to finish with 16 points, while also recording a career-high six steals, pulling down five rebounds, dishing out three assists and racking up three blocked shots. Mason Lund hit all three of his 3-point attempts to finish with 13 points, while Jakob Braaten dished out a game-high six assists and closed with 11 points. Aeron Stevens chipped in with nine points and pulled down four rebounds.
 
The Mustangs closed the evening shooting 49 percent (28 of 57) from the field, while drilling 9 of 17 from 3-point range. The Mustang defense was strong throughout the night finishing with 16 steals and forcing 19 Maverick turnovers. The 16 steals marks SMSU highest single-game total since recording 15 versus Minnesota State on Jan. 21, 2017. 
 
MSU was led by Traijan Sain, who scored 23 points on 7 of 17 shooting while making all nine free throw attempts. The Mavericks shot 44 percent (22 of 50) from the field and made 5 of 17 from 3-point range. MSU also held a 35-26 rebound advantage.
 
The teams played a tight opening eight minutes of the game with MSU holding a 15-14 advantage following a Sain layup.
 
Schlaak put SMSU back in front with a 3-pointer and back-to-back layups to give the Mustangs a 21-15 lead midway through the half.
 
SMSU would later build a pair of eight-point leads, including 31-23, before settling for a 34-27 halftime advantage.
 
MSU opened the second half with six straight points before SMSU answered with six straight to stay in the lead at 40-33 four minutes into the half.
 
Stevens hits a big 3-pointer with 11:39 left in the game to give SMSU a 52-42 lead, but MSU came right back with six straight to cut the deficit to 52-48 at the 9:23 mark. Stevens scored a layup to stop the run, but MSU hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 54 with 7:38 remaining. Following missed 3-pointers by both teams, Shaw put SMSU back in front with steal and layup to start the game-deciding run.
 
SMSU closes out the calendar year on Saturday with a 2 p.m. home game versus St. Cloud State.