Southwest Minnesota State Men’s Basketball held off a late Concordia-St. Paul charge, to earn an 89-76 victory, and capture the NSIC South Division championship on Feb. 18 at the Gangelhoff Center.

SMSU’s win, along with Upper Iowa’s overtime loss at Augustana, gives the Mustangs its first division  championship since the 2012-2013 season.

SMSU, ranked No. 3 in this week’s NCAA region rankings, improves to 22-5 overall, 17-5 NSIC.

SMSU was red-hot from the field in the game’s first 10 minutes, connecting on four 3-pointers, to build a 25-15 lead midway through the half. Just after the mid-way mark of the first half, the CSP bench was given a technical foul which helped the Mustangs build a 51-28 halftime lead.

SMSU’s 51 first half point total was its highest in a first half this season.

The Mustangs would extend the lead to 57-29 with 18 minutes left in the game before the Golden Bears rallied with 11 straight points to cut the margin to 57-40 at the 14:49 mark. SMSU was able to make 5 unanswered free throws to stop the streak and the game was in hand.