CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Southwest Minnesota State wheelchair basketball team, the No. 5 seed, closed its season on Saturday morning with an impressive, 63-55, victory over the No. 3 seed University of Alabama in the third place game of the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament inside the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois.

The third place national finish is the program's highest since placing third in 2007. The victory was SMSU's first over Alabama since the 2007-08 season, snapping a 21-game losing streak.
 
In the third-place game, Emmanuel Fuentes Cervantes led the Mustangs with 26 points connecting on six 3-pointers, while grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds. Fermin Wingerter added 21 points on 9 of 17 shooting with Joshua Brown chipping in with nine points on four field goals.
 
SMSU opened the tournament on Thursday earning a 63-59 victory over No. 4 seed Auburn University. Brown had a strong game for the Mustangs scoring 20 points with 11 rebounds, while Fuentes Cervantes recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists. Wingerter was 7 of 11 from the field for 14 points with Landon Wherry adding six points and Robert Lew scoring four points.
 
The Mustangs suffered an 81-51 loss to the eventual national champions, the University of Arizona, on Friday afternoon. Fuentes Cervantes scored 21 points on 8 of 18 shooting with Brown adding 16 points on 8 of 18 from the field.
 
Fuentes Cervantes finished the season scoring 553 total points for an average of 23 per game. He shot 45 percent from the field (232 of 514) with a team-high 59 3-pointers. He also led the team with 281 rebounds (11.7) and dished out a team-high 162 assists.
 
Wingerter closed the season averaging 14.8 ppg, while shooting 50 percent (144 of 288) from the field. Joshua Brown scored 14.4 ppg and ranked second on the squad with 177 rebounds (7.3) and was third with 113 assists.
 
Landon Wherry played in 20 games and ranked fourth on the team in scoring (7.2).

SMSU ends the season with a 15-9 overall record.