LAST TIME OUT
- The Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team made several clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes to hold off Winona State and snap a four-game losing streak earning a 79-71 victory in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action on Thursday night inside the R/A Facility.
- SMSU improves to 15-9 overall, 13-6 NSIC, and completes the season sweep over WSU, which drops to 9-15 overall, 8-11 NSIC.
- SMSU held a 65-63 advantage with three minutes left in the game before pulling away with a pair of clutch 3-pointers by Mason Lund and one by Micah Schlaak. Schlaak's 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining helped seal the victory giving SMSU a 74-68 lead.
- The Mustangs used a balanced scoring attack in earning the victory with Lund, Schlaak and Jakob Braaten all scoring a team-high 15 points, while Mekhi Shaw (11) and Aeron Stevens (10) also reached double figures in scoring.
- SMSU finished the game shooting 55 percent (28 of 51) from the field, while making 12 of 24 from 3-point range.
- WSU, which was led by Tyler Mason's 24 points with five 3-pointers, closed the game shooting 45 percent (24 of 53) from the field, while making 11 of 23 from 3-point range.
HEAD COACH BRAD BIGLER
- Head coach BRAD BIGLER, the all-time wins leader in program history, is in his 17th season with an overall record of 276-208, including 193-159 in NSIC play.
- SMSU has played in five NCAA tournaments (2012, 2017, 2018, 2024, 2025) during his tenure as head coach.
- SMSU won a share of the 2024-25 NSIC regular season championship, captured NSIC tournament titles in 2012 and 2017 and won back-to-back NSIC South Division championships in 2016-17 and 2017-18. SMSU has played in five NSIC tournament championship games under Bigler (2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019).
- The 2012-13 and 2016-17 NSIC Coach of the Year, Bigler has led SMSU to 11 winning seasons, with one 28-win season, one 25-win season, and four seasons of 19-or-more victories.
- The 11th head coach in team history, Bigler spent six seasons (2003-09) as an assistant coach at SMSU, including the last three as associate head coach.
MORE ON CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
- The Golden Bears are 17-8 overall, 12-7 NSIC. CSP defeated Sioux Falls Thursday night 94-84 after scoring 54 points in the second half.
- CSP won a share of the NSIC regular season championship last season along with SMSU and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
- Junior guard Ben Kopetzki is averaging 21.4 ppg with 65 3-pointers.
- Sophomore guard Owen Carlson is averaging 13.2 ppg with 52 3-pointers.
- CSP is shooting 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range, 74 percent from the free throw line and is plus-2.4 in rebound margin.
- CSP is averaging 84 points per game, while opponents are averaging 81 points per game.
- Head coach Matt Fletcher is in his sixth season with a record of 61-93. He previously was the head coach at Bethany Lutheran College for four seasons (2016-20) compiling a record of 76-33.
- Fletcher played four seasons at SMSU (2004-08) and closed his career holding the program record for 3-pointers made (305) and free throw percentage (85.3).
SERIES HISTORY
- SMSU and CSP meet for the 52nd time with SMSU leading 34-17 in a series that began during the 1980-81 season.
- SMSU won earlier this season in St. Paul, 80-71, and has won 17 of the last 27 games since Feb. 11, 2011.
- CSP has won seven of the last 11 games since Jan. 11, 2019.
- SMSU is 19-7 all-time in games played in Marshall, but CSP has won four of the last five in Marshall.
- SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 17-13 all-time versus CSP.
MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
- SMSU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 15 ppg. He also leads the team in field goals (135), assists (113) and rebounding (5.5), while ranking third in steals (37).
- Junior Aeron Stevens ranks second on the team averaging 12.9 ppg with 104 field goals made.
- Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak is third in scoring at 11.6 ppg, second in rebounding (4.7), while ranking first with 48 3-pointers.
- Junior Mekhi Shaw ranks third averaging 11.4 ppg and has registered a team-high 55 steals and is second with 64 assists.
- Senior Mason Lund is scoring 9.5 ppg, while ranking second with 41 3-pointers and is third at 4.5 rpg.
- SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, 69 percent from the free throw line and is minus-0.6 in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 74 points per game, while opponents are averaging 67 ppg.
SMSU INSIDE THE R/A FACILITY
- The 2025-26 season marks the 30th year the R/A Facility has served as the home arena for SMSU men's basketball.
- SMSU has an all-time record of 281-118 (.705) in 399 games with 25 winning seasons (including this season). SMSU in the R/A Facility
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