Huskies Fall Short in 63-60 Loss to No. 15 Mustangs

Saturday, January 25

St. Cloud, MN

3:30 P.M.

St. Cloud State

13-9,9-5NSIC

#15 Southwest Minnesota State

17-3,12-2NSIC

Southwest Minn. St.

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Jason Soria

1/25/2025 8:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

St. Cloud State misses game-tying buzzer beating three

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (13-9, 9-5 NSIC) were narrowly defeated 63-60 against No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State Saturday afternoon. SCSU got off to a strong start as Kynan Philippe nailed a three to give the Huskies an 8-2 lead. After a slow offensive start for the Mustangs, they started to find their footing as a 12-2 run over the next two minutes led to a timeout by St. Cloud State. This game showed early that it would be a game of runs as the Huskies stormed out to an 11-0 run coming out of the timeout to lead 21-14 with 10:54 left in the half. The rest of the half saw the Mustangs cut into the Huskies lead multiple times, but SCSU was able to respond to every run with a run of their own as they led 38-30 going into the break. The first five minutes of the second half saw the Huskies start to take control of the game as back-to-back threes by Nate Dahl pushed the lead up to 13 points. St. Cloud State would work the lead up to 15 points after a technical foul on Brad Bigler. The Mustangs offense had been relatively quiet up until that point, but the technical foul gave them a much needed spark. St. Cloud State went scoreless for the next six minutes as their lead would be cut down to four points with 6:21 remaining in the game. The potent Mustangs defense extended a three-quarter court press which had stalled the Huskies offense during that frame. St. Cloud State weathered the storm at times as the game got late, but the momentum for SMSU led to a 60-59 score with 1:36 left in the game. SMSU forced a Huskies turnover and then drew a foul on their offensive possession with 38 seconds remaining. Steven Kramer knocked down both free throws as the Mustangs now led 61-60. SCSU called a timeout ahead of the possession, but Kramer came away with a steal, leading to a foul by the Huskies. Jakob Braaten went to the free throw line where he missed a one-and-one. St. Cloud State came down the floor looking for the lead with seconds ticking away. Dahl would miss a floater in the lane, but the Huskies fought for the team rebound. With four seconds remaining, Dahl drove into the lane where he would be fouled with 2.8 seconds left. Dahl would head to the line shooting a one-and-one where he would miss the free throw. Braaten grabbed the rebound and would be fouled. He would make both free throws to push the lead to three points. St. Cloud State needed to go the full length of the court to tie the game with 2.2 seconds left. The ball would land in the hands of Luke Winkel where he missed a near half-court three as time expired. SCSU would lose 63-60 to Southwest Minnesota State in a heartbreaker.

Top Huskies

Lucas Morgan scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, and nabbed two steals while shooting 45% from the field. Morgan also went 3/3 from the free throw line. This was Morgan's sixth game scoring 14+ points this season.
Nate Dahl totaled 14 points, four rebounds and steals, and three assists while making three three-pointers. This was the third game this season where Dahl has cashed 3+ threes.
Luke Winkel was the final Husky to score in double-digits as he tallied 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Winkel also shot 6/7 from the free throw line. This was the fourth game this season where Winkel has dished out 5+ assists.

Notables

St. Cloud State is now 41-27 all-time against SMSU and has lost six straight games to the Mustangs.
The Huskies led the game in free throw makes (14-9), offensive rebounds (8-3), assists (12-8), steals (14-9), points off turnovers (19-16), second chance points (3-2), and bench points (7-2).
Wyatt Hawks nearly notched a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. This was his sixth game where he has grabbed 10+ rebounds.
Kynan Philippe scored six points off of two three-point makes. He also nabbed two steals. This was Philippe's 12th multi-three game this season.
Anish Ramlall tallied five points, two assists, and one steal and block.

Up Next
St. Cloud State will be back in action on Tuesday, January 28 as they host Bemidji State. 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.