ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team (14-8, 12-5 NSIC) was defeated in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night by the St. Cloud State Huskies (18-5, 15-2 NSIC) 49-47. In a crucial game in the Mustangs hunt for a NSIC South Division title and the overall one seed in the NSIC, the Huskies score the last six points in the game in the final 26 seconds to come away with a victory.
 
Aeron Stevens led the Mustangs with 14 points shooting 6 of 8 from the charity stripe. Jakob Braaten added 11 points and six rebounds, leading the team in that category. Mekhi Shaw put in nine points as well for SMSU.
 
As a team the Mustangs shot 34 percent from the floor (18 of 53), 17 percent from 3-point range (3 of 17) and 80 percent from the charity stripe (8 of 10). The Mustangs were outrebounded by SCSU 42-31, and on the offensive glass 14-5, however SMSU forced 16 Huskies turnovers to the Mustangs 11. SCSU, led in scoring by Luke Winkel with 12, shot 34 percent from the floor as well (18-52).
 
In a low-scoring defensive first half both teams shot 10 of 28 from the floor. The Mustangs capitalized from the charity stripe, making both free throws, while the Huskies missed all three chances from the line. Aeron Stevens led the way for SMSU with eight points adding two steals and a blocked shot. Calvin Buss made a pair of baskets at the rim in quick succession, and Mason Lund made the only 3-pointer of the half for the Mustangs. Mekhi Shaw gave the Mustangs the lead at the end of the first half with a fadeaway jumper and coming up with a steal on the defensive end, making the score 23-22 at the halfway point.
 
The second half was much of the same, with neither team shooting above 35 percent from the field. Jakob Braaten made a pair of clutch shots to tie the game and take the lead 45-42 with less than 3 minutes to play. SMSU held a 47-43 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the game, when Luke Winkel made a 3-pointer for SCSU cutting the lead to one. Following an inbounds pass that was stolen, Anish Ramlall made two free throws giving the Huskies a 48-47 lead. With the Huskies now leading 49-47, the Mustangs had one final shot to tie or win the game, which Mekhi Shaw hit a 3-pointer off the front rim, ending the game at 49-47.
 
SMSU is in Mankato, Minn., on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. facing Minnesota State. The game will be streaming live on the NSIC Network.