Poor shooting and turnovers doomed the Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team on Friday, November 9 in their 64-57 loss to Cal. State Dominguez Hills on the first day of the Disney Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Cal.  The Mustangs shot 35 percent from the field and had 18 turnovers, which the Toros used to their advantage to outscore the Mustangs 26-12 in turnover points.
The Mustangs went 4 for 21 from behind the arc and were outrebounded 45-43. The Mustangs never led during the game and had a deficit of 33-22 at the half. Trailing 49-30 with 14 minutes left in the game, the Mustangs sparked an 11-1 run to cut the Toros’ lead to 50-41. A set of free throws by Tramel Barnes got the Mustangs within six points of the Toros, but that would be as close as they got.
Junior Matt Zager led the way for the Mustangs, knocking down 13 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Lavione West added 12 points and five rebounds.
Despite a loss to CSUDH on Friday, the Mustangs picked up the pace on Saturday and defeated North Carolina-Pembroke 77-58 on the second day of the Disney Tip-Off Classic. The Mustangs were 28 for 55 from the field. Overall, they shot 51 percent, with an impressive 56 percent in the second half.
West and Zager added 10 points apiece during the Mustangs’ victory. Shaun Condon added eight points, three steals, and three assists. William Giddings and Vinard Birch rounded out the scoring with nine and eight points, respectively.
Despite starting the game out without scoring in the first four minutes and trailing 14-3 with just under twelve minutes left in the first half, the Mustangs fought back. With little more than seven minutes left before the half, SMSU tied the score at 16. UNCP answered quickly, taking a 30-25 lead. However, SMSU had an answer of their own, scoring 14 unanswered points and taking a 39-30 lead at halftime.
The Mustangs’ momentum spilled over into the second half, taking an early 13-point lead. However, the Braves didn’t go down without a fight, coming within five on two separate occasions. UNCP trimmed the deficit to 45-40 with just under 17 minutes left on the clock. The Mustangs fought back with a 13-2 run and pulled away with the win.
After an exciting victory of UNCP on Saturday, the Mustangs went on the defeat Grand Canyon University 69-58 at the Disney Tip-Off Classic.
Junior Nick Smith pulled down nine rebounds during the win. West finished with a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe, in addition to adding five rebounds and dishing out four assists. As a team, the Mustangs committed just nine turnovers and shot 38 percent from the field and 88 percent from the field.
Despite a 13-9 deficit with just over 11 minutes left before the half, the Mustangs scored eight unanswered points to take a 17-13 lead over the Antelopes. The Antelopes would take their final lead with six minutes left in the half but could not handle the Mustangs. After an 11-2 run, the Mustangs took a 30-22 lead at halftime.
The Mustangs came out hot after the half, building up a 38-28 lead with under 16 minutes left in the game. A 3-pointer by senior Jordan Miller pushed the Mustangs’ lead to 46-34, which was their largest lead of the game.
GCU would not go down without a fight. The Antelopes came within four points with six minutes left on the clock. A lay-up by Vinard Birch ended the run, followed by a 3-pointer by West to push the lead to 58-49.
Giddings recorded seven points and four rebounds, while Tramel Barnes and Birch chipped in six points each. Miller connected on a game-high four 3-pointers.