Box Score Southwest Minnesota State 88 Wayne State 76

            Southwest Minnesota State broke a 54-54 tie with a 12-2 run midway through the second half to pull away for a 88-76 win over Wayne State College in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball Saturday evening at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minnesota.  SMSU is 13-12 and 9-11 in the NSIC South following the win while dropping Wayne State to 5-21 and 3-17 in league play.
            The first half was like a roller coaster ride that featured momentum swings by both teams until a big surge at the end of the first half allowed SMSU to take a 45-40 lead at intermission.
            SMSU built a pair of five point leads early in the game, but WSC battled back and took a 24-20 lead on a Brian Goodwin 3-pointer with 9:16 to play in the first half.
            The Mustangs stormed back and used a 23-7 run highlighted by five 3-pointers to build a 43-31 lead with 3:41 left before halftime, but the Wildcats ended the first half strong and cut the Mustang advantage to five on a Jordan Cornelius basket to close the half down 45-40.
            Wayne State started the second half strong and took a three point lead at 52-49 on a Matt Thomas 3-pointer with 15:49 remaining.
            The game's seventh and final tie came at 54-54 following an Austin Esters layup with 14:27 to play.
            Southwest Minnesota State took control of the game with a 14-2 run over the next 5:32, taking a 68-56 lead.  WSC never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way as the Mustangs went on to the 88-76 win.
            Both teams had five players in double figures.  Matt Thomas led Wayne State with 16 points followed by Brian Goodwin with 15 and Adam Moon 14.  Austin Esters and David Andersen also hit double digits with 11 and 10 respectively.
            Wayne State made 29 of 64 shots in the game for 45.3 percent, including 7 of 21 behind the 3-point line.
            Ryan Bruggeman scored 15 points for Southwest Minnesota State.  Shaun Condon (14), Mitch Weg (13), Joey Bartlett (11) and Taylor Schafer (11) also hit double figures for the Mustangs.
            SMSU was 28 of 58 shooting for 48.3 percent.  The Mustangs were 11 of 24 from 3-point range and 21 of 29 at the free throw line.
            The Mustangs held a 40-30 edge in rebounds over the Wildcats thanks to 10 by Weg while Esters grabbed eight boards for Wayne State.
            WSC had 17 turnovers and 17 assists while SMSU had 20 turnovers and 20 assists.  Jordan Cornelius had five steals and four assists for WSC while Goodwin had four assists and four steals.
            Wayne State will be at home next weekend for their final games of the season in Rice Auditorium, hosting Winona State Friday night at 8 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday in a 6 p.m. contest.