Shooting Struggles Hinder St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball in Loss

Friday, February 16

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

11-14,7-12NSIC

Southwest Minnesota State

15-10,12-7NSIC

Southwest Minn. St.

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

Shooting Struggles Hinder St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball in Loss

2/17/2024 2:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Huskies shoot under 30% from the field, falls to SMSU, 65-52

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (11-14 overall, 7-12 NSIC) shot just 28.6% from the field, dropping to Southwest Minnesota State, 65-52, Friday night at Halenbeck Hall.

The Huskies mustered just 22 first half points, trailing SMSU by eight points after the first 20 minutes. The Mustangs (15-10, 12-7 NSIC) assisted on 11 of their 13 first half field goals and were led by Mason Lund who scored 10 of his 12 points in the first 20 minutes. Five of SCSU's first half buckets were three pointers and graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) paced the Huskies with eight points in 3-of-5 shooting including 2-of-3 from three.

St. Cloud State forced the Mustang's into 11 second half turnovers, but could not capitalize on the extra possessions, shooting 10-of-34 (29.4%) from the field and 4-of-19 (21.1%) from beyond the arc. SMSU made 11 of its 19 shots (57.9%) in the second half. Senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half but no other Husky contributed more than five as the Mustangs outscored SCSU 35-30 in the second half.

The Huskies never held the lead and trailed by as many as 16 but kept the game within striking distance but eventually fell, 65-52.

TOP HUSKIES

Willert scored a game-high 16 points on 5-of-11 from the field. He grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and made three of his four free throw attempts.
Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) scored six points, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots.
Taylor scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting including 2-of-3 from three and posted three rebounds.

NOTABLES

SCSU is now 41-25 all-time against Southwest Minnesota State after the loss.
Team scored a season low 52 points (previous low: 61 points – Nov. 18, 2023, vs. Minnesota State).
52 points is lowest since the first game of the 2022-23 season on Nov. 11, 2022, against Southern Nazarene.
SCSU led the game in free throw percentage (77.8-68.8), three-pointers (9-6), second chance points (12-7) and bench points (29-14).
Southwest Minnesota State led in field goal percentage (52.2-28.6), three-point percentage (40.0-29.0), field goals (24-18), free throws (11-7), total rebounds (5-33—38 - 13-20—33), assists (19-11), points off turnovers (17-12), points in the paint (36-16) and fast break points (7-2).
Both teams tallied nine steals and blocked four shots.
Willert has scored 16+ points in five games this season, grabbed 3+ rebounds in 15 (five straight) and made 3+ three pointers in six. He moved up to No. 31 on the all-time scoring list (1,161 points) passing Dean Kesler (1,149 – 1990-92) and Brindley Theisen (1,158 – 2015-19).
Hawks' three blocks tied his career high. Games with 6+ points: 13, 9+ rebounds: six and 3+ blocks: two.
Taylor has scored 8+ points in 16 games this season and grabbed 3+ rebounds in 17.
Freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) scored six points and grabbed five rebounds. Games this season with 6+ points: 24 (13 straight) and 5+ rebounds: 17.
Freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee) posted five points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Games this season with 5+ points: 23 (18 straight), 4+ rebounds: four (two straight), 3+ assists: four and 2+ steals: 12.
Senior Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) scored five points and tallied a season-high three steals. He has scored 5+ points in 16 games this season (four in a row).
Freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) grabbed four rebounds. He has grabbed 4+ rebounds: 10 (six consecutive).

UP NEXT
The Huskies return to Halenbeck Hall Saturday to play their final regular season home game of the season against Sioux Falls (12-13, 9-10 NSIC). The game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in Halenbeck Hall. The game serves as Senior Day. The teams four seniors (Joe Mutimer, Craig Steele, Luke Taylor and Matt Willert) will be honored before the game, so show up early to support this special group of Huskies.

Live coverage will be available on the NSIC Network and The Varsity Network with live stats being provided by SCSU. Links to each coverage option will be available on the SCSU Men's Basketball schedule page.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.