Box Score Marshall, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men’s basketball team used a pair of free throws from senior guard Marcus Hill to turn a 60-59 deficit into a 61-60 victory Saturday night in the RA Facility on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State.

After SMSU senior post Scott Roehl hit a jumper with 25 seconds left to give the Mustangs its only lead at 60-59.

Minnesota State would come up empty on its ensuing possession giving the Mustangs the ball with 15 seconds left. SMSU junior guard Trent Carlson – younger brother of former Maverick Drew Carlson – missed the front end of a one-and-one and senior wing Joe Drapcho hauled in the rebound before dishing it off the Hill.

Hill then went the length of the court into the paint and got fouled setting up the game winning free throws.

The win secured the regular season Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship for the Mavericks and sets up a first round matchup with Wayne State Wednesday night in the Taylor Center.

“I couldn’t be more excited for this team,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler. “I can’t say enough good things about this team and these guys. This team has not only been a joy on the floor but off and I can’t wait to see how this journey continues.”

The Mavericks opened the game on a 12-0 run over the first six minutes and 53 seconds of play. The run was keyed by Hodges , who scored nine of MSU’s first 12 points, including a difficult bank shot from the right baseline to open the game.

The Mustangs found the scoreboard at the 14:07 mark of the first half when William Giddings dropped a layup ending the drought.

Minnesota State answered however with a senior guard Joe Drapcho hit a floater pushing the lead to 14-2. The Mavericks extended their lead to 17-2 when the offense made an extra pass and found junior guard Stephen Kirschbaum open for a three on the right baseline prompting a 17-2 lead.

The Mustangs answered with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to ten at 20-10 with 7:37 remaining before the MSU answered with an 8-0 run of its own, pushing the lead to 28-10 with 4:46 remaining.

SMSU continued the trend as it rattled of a 14-3 run to cut the lead to 30-24 in just over three minutes before Kirschbaum hit a jumper in the paint to give MSU a 32-24 edge at the half.

The Mavericks shot 42.9 percent in the first half while limiting the Mustangs to 22 percent. The first 20 minutes featured 48 missed shots and SMSU owned a 27-21 edge on the glass, including a 15-4 edge on the offensive glass. Despite the fact that the Mustangs owned a +11 edge on the offensive glass, the Mavericks limited SMSU to just four second-chance points in the first half.

Minnesota State maintained its lead throughout the second half opening a pair of 14 points lead, its latest coming at 11:40 when it lead 45-31 after a pair of free throws from redshirt freshman #Connor O’Brien#.

The Mustangs answered with a 20-9 run over the course of 7:41 to cut the Maverick lead to 54-51, setting up the games final minutes.
Hodges led the Maverick 16 points while Mason added 15 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.

The Mavericks finished the night shooting 42 percent from the floor while SMSU hit on just 29.2 percent its opportunities. The Mustangs owned the battle of the boards, 50-34, including 25-6 on the offensive edge.
Minnesota State forced ten turnovers in the win turning those points into 17 points.

Carlson led the Mustangs in scoring with 15 points off the bench

Tickets can be purchased for Wednesday night’s game by logging HERE beginning Monday. Ticket prices are $10 for adults,$ 8 seniors and $2 students (ages kindergarten through college with an ID). Children five and under free. MSU season ticket holders can use their reserved seat identifier located in the season ticket book, but must purchase a general admission ticket. All tickets for the game are general admission unless you have a seat identifier.

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Marcus Hill talks about the win: