19th article at the Independent

SMSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: Mustangs clinch postseason berth in overtime victory over Wildcats 60-55 Chris Drummond cdrummond@marshallindependent.com MARSHALL — Needing a win to clinch a spot in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament, it took the Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team a little extra time, but the Mustangs were able to hold on against Wayne State College 60-55 in overtime on Senior Night on Thursday at the R/A Facility.

The Mustangs started the game on fire, opening the game on a 13-2 run, resulting in a Wildcats timeout. However, the Wildcats would respond by going on a 9-0 run themselves cutting the Mustangs lead to two. Both teams went back and forth for the entire opening half and it was tied up at 27-all at halftime. The second half was a defensive battle as both teams would struggle to score throughout the half. WSC guard Nate Mohr paced the scoring and put his team up by two 49-47 with two minutes remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession, SMSU’s Kenny Byers scored to tie up the ballgame at 49-49. Byers led the team in scoring (15) and in rebounds (10). Neither team could make another shot as the game went into overtime. The Mustangs would go on to outscore the Wildcats 11-6 in overtime, securing the win behind two free throws from Mustangs guard Dunwa Omot. SMSU head coach Brad Bigler talked about the game performance of his ballclub. “Both of our styles are very aggressive defensively,” Bigler said. “Coming in, you kinda knew that this was going to be a low-scoring game and we were going to have to find a way to win an ugly game and we did that.” Bigler also advocated about his two seniors, Byers and Grant Kramer who were recognized prior to Thursday’s matchup. “The fun part of my job is to see 18-year-olds come in and leave as men,” Bigler said. “They are prepared for that next step in life. They work hard and will be successful in what they choose to do in life and have been consistent with their actions speaking louder than their words.” The Mustangs have won two straight games and are now 3-1 in overtime games this season and have clinched a berth in the postseason NSIC tournament. Bigler elaborated on what this win could do moving forward in the tournament. “I think the biggest thing now as we are going down the stretch is just to continue to improve our shot making,” Bigler said. “As good as our defense is and it’s one of the best defenses in the league, we’re going to have to score more in order to upset one of those national ranked teams.” Mohr led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points. SMSU (14-10 overall, 10-9 NSIC) will travel to Sioux Falls for the regular-season finale to play against the Augustana Vikings on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m.

SMSU 60, Wayne State 55 (OT) WSC 27 22 6 – 55 SMSU 27 22 11 – 60 Scoring: SMSU (Byers 4-16, 6-6 15; Omot 4-8, 3-5 12; McCray 4-12, 2-2 12; Phipps 4-11, 4-4 12; Costello 3-5, 0-0 6; Benson 1-1, 0-0 3). Rebounds: SMSU 44 (Byers, Phipps 10). Assists: SMSU 11 (Kramer 4; Byers, Omot 2).