MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team earned its sixth straight victory on Saturday afternoon inside the R/A Facility defeating St. Cloud State, 64-54, in a battle of two first place teams in the NSIC South Division.
 
SMSU is now 8-4 overall, 6-1 NSIC, earning its best start in league play since the 2016-17 team started 8-1. The 54 points allowed is the lowest by an SMSU opponent this season.
 
SCSU dropped its second straight and is now 7-5 overall, 5-2 NSIC.
 
Jakob Braaten led SMSU with 16 points, while Aeron Stevens and Mekhi Shaw each poured in 14 points. The Mustangs shot 50 percent (23 of 46) from the field and made 7 of 14 from 3-point range.
 
The SMSU defense limited SCSU to 31 percent shooting (16 of 51), including 3 of 25 from 3-point land. Nate Dahl led the Huskies with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. SCSU closed the game holding a 37-29 rebound advantage.
 
Mason Lund pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds to lead the Mustangs, while also scoring seven points.
 
Braaten closed the game with three assists and in the process became the seventh player in team history to reach 300 career assists.
 
SMSU started the game slow scoring just two points in the opening six-plus minutes as SCSU opened a 9-2 advantage. Shaw stopped the run with a layup and was followed moments later with a layup by Landon Pokorski. Following a field goal by the Huskies, Brayson Boike drilled a 3-pointer to pull SMSU to within 11-9 at the 12:10 mark.
 
SCSU used 5-0 run later in the half to take its largest lead of the game at 23-16 with 7:17 left in the first half. SCSU maintained a 26-22 lead with four minutes left in the half, but the SMSU defense kicked in and held SCSU scoreless for the remainder of the half. The Mustangs closed the half scoring seven straight points behind a 3-pointer by Lund, a jumper from Braaten and two free throws by Lund to rally and build a 29-26 halftime lead.
 
SCSU scored the first field goal of the second half before Braaten and Stevens combined to score seven straight points to make the score 36-28 with 17:27 left in the game.
 
Leading 36-32, Braaten hit a jumper and was followed by field goals by Shaw and Stevens to give SMSU its first double-digit lead of the game at 42-32 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
 
SMSU was not able to pull away as SCSU continued to battle and cut the deficit to 52-45 with 4:15 on the clock. Shaw answered with a layup before Micah Schlaak connected on a clutch 3-pointer to make the score 57-45 with three minutes remaining.
 
SCSU made the score 57-49 with two minutes left, but Stevens made a field goal and two free throws, while Braaten sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 50 seconds left to give the Mustangs a 63-49 lead.
 
SMSU will now have two weeks off for the holiday break before returning to action at home versus the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, Jan. 3, starting 2 p.m.