LAST TIME OUT
- Micah Schlaak poured in a career-high 23 points with five 3-pointers to pace the Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball team to a 76-48 victory over the University of Mary on Saturday night inside the R/A Facility.
- SMSU remains tied for first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference improving to 10-2 in league play and 12-5 overall. UMary dropped its fifth straight game and is now 5-13 overall, 3-9 NSIC.
- SMSU, which never trailed in the game, shot 52 percent (28 of 54) from the field with a season-high 16 3-pointers on 34 attempts. SMSU closed the game with a 37-32 rebound advantage.
- Mason Lund was the only other Mustangs in double figure scoring with 10 points, while Jakob Braaten, Landon Pokorski and Mekhi Shaw each finished with nine points. Braaten closed the game with eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals, while Pokorski made three 3-pointers. led the Mustangs with a game-high eight rebounds.
- Schlaak finished the game making 9 of 17 field goals, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range. He also had three blocked shots, four rebounds and three steals.
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 273-204, including 190-155 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 MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD
- The Dragons are 10-8 overall, 7-5 NSIC, and are tied for first place in the NSIC North Division. MSUM started the season winning seven of its first 10 games.
- Junior guard Dominic Gooden averages 14.2 ppg and has connected on 34 3-pointers.
- Freshman guard Isa El-Amin is scoring 12.6 ppg with 60 assists.
- MSUM is shooting 48 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, 76 percent from the free throw line and is plus-3.3 in rebound margin.
- MSUM is averaging 86 points per game, while opponents are averaging 85 points per game.
- Head coach Jason Kemp is in his first season with a 10-8 record. He most recently was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota.
SERIES HISTORY
- SMSU and MSUM meet for the 111th time with MSUM leading 64-46 in a series that started during the 1968-69 season.
- MSUM has won five of the last six games, including earlier this season, 78-68, on Nov. 29 in a non-conference game in St. Paul, Minn.
- SMSU won the lone meeting between the two teams last season in Marshall, 59-53, snapping MSUM's two-game winning streak inside the R/A Facility. MSUM holds a 27-25 advantage in games played in Marshall.
- SMSU head coach Brad Bigler is 7-14 all-time versus MSUM.
MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS
- •SMSU has five players averaging double figures in scoring with senior Jakob Braaten averaging a team-high 15.7 ppg. He also leads the team in field goals (98), assists (88) and rebounding (6.0), while ranking third in steals (30).
- Redshirt freshman Micah Schlaak ranks second in scoring at 12.6 ppg, while ranking first with 38 3-pointers.
- Junior Mekhi Shaw ranks third averaging 11.8 ppg and has registered a team-high 40 steals and is second with 43 assists.
- Junior Aeron Stevens ranks fourth on the team averaging 11.3 ppg.
- Senior Mason Lund is scoring 10.6 ppg, while ranking second with 32 3-pointers and second with 4.8 rpg.
- SMSU is shooting 48 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point range, 72 percent from the free throw line and is even in rebound margin. The Mustangs are averaging 75 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 278-118 (.702) in 396 games with 25 winning seasons (including this season). SMSU in the R/A Facility
GAME LINKS