The Men’s basketball team at SMSU finished their season last year as the NSIC South Division champions, and the NSIC Tournament Champions. This year was different for them.

They started their season with a 104-point game, giving them a win against St. Olaf, who scored 66 points. From there they lost to Fort Hays State at their next game but won the following against Emporia State.

This back and forth battle continued until Dec. 1 when the Mustangs scored five wins in a row, but that was broken up by a loss to Augustana. The next day, the boys came back to defeat Wayne State, but lost a close game to Winona on Jan. 5.

After another series of close games that resulted in both wins and losses, the Mustangs started another winning streak on Jan. 27. They entered the NSIC Tournament with a seven-game winning streak and continued the streak throughout it.

Their first game in the tournament was against U-Mary, which the boys won 78-73. Three days later, they defeated Augustana, who they had previously lost to, by 15 points. On Monday, the team punched their ticket to the championship game by winning against St. Cloud State 73-66.

That win against St. Cloud State sent the Mustangs into the NSIC Championship game with a ten-game winning streak. They were up against Northern State, who they had beaten previously in the season, but they lost 81-75.

Leading players in the game were Seniors Carter Kirk and KJ Davis, along with Junior Ryan Bruggeman. These three men had led the team in points and rebounds all season long and proved to be an asset once again in the NSIC Tournament despite falling short of another championship.