Box Score Mankato, Minn.--- Southwest Minnesota State used a 20-4 run to open the game and never looked back en route to a 79-71 victory over Minnesota State Saturday night.

The loss came despite a career-high 24 points from sophomore point guard Jimmy Whitehead.

“I thought our guys did a great job responding tonight,” said head coach Matt Margenthaler.  “We took it on the chin early but we didn’t back down.  They left it all on the court tonight.”

After SMSU opened the game with its run, sophomore guard Alex Hanks ended it by draining a three from the right wing.
 
The rainmaker began a 10-1 run for Minnesota State, culminating in a timeout by SMSU.  The Mustangs responded with a basket following the timeout to end the run, however, MSU senior Stephen Kirschbaum drained a three to pull the Mavericks within six at 23-17.

The Mustangs continued to play with the lead to close out the first half, taking a 40-32 advantage into the break.  Kirschbaum led the Mavericks in scoring with 11 points in the first half as MSU shot 43.3 percent from the floor.

Southwest Minnesota State continued its solid play during the second half answering Minnesota State basket for basket.
 
Sophomore forward Zach Romashko’s three-pointer with 4:20 remaining cut the deficit to five at 69-64, the closest the game had been since the early minutes.

SMSU answered with six free throws in the final two and a half minutes to ice the win.

Whitehead’s 24 points came on 10-of-17 shooting to go with eight assists, a tally which ties his career high.  Kirschbaum added 22 points while O’Brien had 11 points and eight rebounds to go with a pair of blocks.

Minnesota State shot 42.4 percent for the game compared to 52.8 percent by the Mustangs while SMSU also outrebounded MSU, 37-29.  The Mavericks finished the season with a 7-19 record, including a 6-16 mark in the NSIC.

Post game interviews with Coach Margenthaler, Steve Kirschbaum and Jimmy Whitehead.