On Saturday, December 8, the Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team defeated Wayne State College with a final score of 80-61.

The Wildcats called a timeout after an early 6-0 lead for the Mustangs. However, the Wildcats forced several turnovers and took a three point lead with a score of 10-7. With six and a half minutes left before the half, the Wildcats remained in the lead with a score of 23-22. However, a late surge from the Mustangs turned the game around; after an 18-8 run, SMSU went into halftime with a 40-31 advantage.

SMSU’s William Giddings kicked off the second half with three made free throws just seconds into playing time. A 10-3 run for the Mustangs helped them to a 72-46 lead, their biggest advantage of the game, with six and a half minutes left on the clock. The Wildcats tried to climb back to defeat the Mustangs with a 15-8 run to close the game out, but it simply was not enough.

The Mustangs shot approximately 50 percent from the field, and made 5 of 11 shots from behind the arc. SMSU also made 33 of 39 free throw attempts, which was a season high. Nick Smith paced the Mustangs with 22 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots, and two steals. Matt Zager recorded 11 points, followed by Vinard Birch, Mitch Weg, and Shaun Condon, who all recorded nine points apiece.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to an overall record of 4-4 and 2-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.