A buzzer-beater by Vinard Birch with 2.2 seconds left on the clock earned a 69-67 victory for the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustang men’s basketball team over Concordia-St. Paul on Friday, Feb. 22 in Marshall.
This victory helped the Mustangs secure the No. 3 seed in the NSIC South Division. On Wednesday, February 26, SMSU will host the No. 6 seed to kick off the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Health Tournament.
The Mustangs jumped to an early lead within the first minutes of the game, building up a 16-8 lead. Matt Zager and Joey Bartlett contributed to the lead with a pair of 3-pointers. However, with nine minutes left in the first half, the Golden Bears rallied back with a 10-2 run. SMSU’s Shaun Condon put an end to the run with a 3-pointer to give the Mustangs a 23-18 lead. The Golden Bears refused to give up the momentum, rallying for the final four points before half time to tie the score at 33.
During the second half, the lead changed 10 times. The Golden Bears snagged their first lead of the game early in the second half. They managed to build up a 46-43 lead over the Mustangs. However, the Mustangs fought back with a 7-0 run, topped off with a layup by Condon, to give the Mustangs a 50-46 lead with just over ten minutes left on the clock.
The Golden Bears responded with a vengeance, building up a 64-58 lead, which was their largest of the night, with five minutes remaining. However, a layup by Zager helped the Mustangs get back into the game. During the following possession, the Mustangs forced the Golden Bears to miss, then cut the deficit to 64-62 after a Birch layup with just over four minutes left on the clock. Another 3-pointer by Condon gave the Mustangs a 65-64 lead. However, the Golden Bears responded with a 3-pointer of their own to take back a 67-65 lead.
During the next possession, Birch knocked down a crucial jumper to tie the game with 1:30 remaining on the clock. The Golden Bears missed two attempts to score in their next possession before Zager pulled down a defensive rebound with one minute remaining. Birch missed a jumper, but SMSU’s Nick Smith pulled down an offensive rebound to set-up Birch for the game-winning shot.
In addition to scoring the final four points of the game, Birch paced the Mustangs with 17 points, five assists, and three steals. Shaun Condon recorded 14 points, while Matt Zager added 11 points to round out the Mustangs in double-digits. As a team, the Mustangs ended the game shooting 52 percent from the field and held a 36-33 rebounding advantage over the Golden Bears. The Mustangs allowed 11 turnovers, but forced the Golden Bears to commit just six.
With the win, the Mustangs improve to 17-10 overall and 14-7 in the NSIC, while Concordia-St. Paul falls to 8-17 overall and 5-16 in the NSIC.