Though a slightly milder and tamer year of Hawaiian Night celebrations ensued over the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 weekend, a high number of students and community members still came out to celebrate and cheer on the Southwest Minnesota State University basketball Mustangs in the popular mid-season games.
In a precursor to the excitement of Hawaiian Night, both the men and women Mustangs faced off against the Bemidji State Beavers Friday, Jan. 31.
Leading the women’s team to a victory over Bemidji State, Mikayla Saathoff scored with 14 points and a total of 13 assists. Alison Nagel tied for points with Saathoff, while team members Rebekah Rolling and Annessa Rosch tied for 11 points each. Though the Beavers ended the half ahead of the Mustangs, SMSU rallied back, taking the win 76-64.
Nick Smith led the men’s Mustangs with 19 points with teammates William Giddings, Vinard Birch, Matt Zager and Joey Bartlett also scoring in the double-digits. Zager became the 19th player in SMSU’s history to reach 1000 career points in the second half of Friday’s game. Despite the high points and career highs, the men’s team took a loss against the Beavers 82-91.
Coconut bras, hula skirts and scores of sunglasses aside, the men’s and women’s basketball teams were able to push through and play well, with the men’s team taking home the Hawaiian Night win.
Though the women’s team took a loss against UM-Crookston, they rallied back from 10 points down, only losing to Crookston 69-76. Nagel led the team with 16 points; Bree Holleman followed with 14.
The men’s team followed, taking an early lead against Crookston. Shaun Condon scored a career high with 20 points while Smith scored with 18. The Mustangs led by 24 points at the half and continued that winning streak to beat Crookston 79-53.
Current Standings (as of Feb. 12):
Men’s: 15-9 overall record
Women’s: 4-18 overall record
