MANKATO, Minn. --- It proved to be an exciting finish to the regular season Saturday evening in Taylor Center, as Minnesota State rallied late in the game to top Southwest Minnesota State 72-69 in Taylor Center.

With the win, the Mavericks improve to 20-8, including a 15-7 NSIC record. With the loss, the Mustangs fall to 13-14, including a 9-13 conference record. MSU's win also marks its fourth consecutive 20-win season.

The first half saw the Mustangs hold the lead for more than 15 minutes, which included a seven point lead with 11:30 left in the half. The Mavericks stayed close to the Mustangs and eventually took a one-point lead at 27-26 with 5:19 to go in the half.

SMSU would then finish the half on a 7-5 run, to take a 34-31 lead into halftime. Senior Jalen Pendleton and junior Jon Fuqua each added two points in the final five minutes, while Joey Bartlett notched four points for the Mustangs.

Fuqua and senior Snoop Viser led the Maverick offense in the first half with seven points each, with Fuqua hauling in a team-leading four rebounds. Pendleton and sophomore Alex Herink added six points each as well.

As a team, MSU shot 34.6% from the field in the first half, to go with a 10-of-12 (.833) showing from the free throw line.

Mitch Weg led the Mustang offense in the first half with 11 points and five rebounds in the first half. As a team, Southwest Minnesota State shot 40% from the field in the opening stanza.

With 9:32 to go in the game both teams were knotted up at 49. SMSU had led through the entire first 10 minutes of the second half but a layup from Fuqua brought the Mavericks even with the Mustangs.

The following 6:32 saw each team build a four-point lead, but it was SMSU that held the four-point advantage with three minutes to go. The Mavericks would then score the next five points, including a clutch three point shot from Herink as the shot clock expired to put the Mavericks up 68-67 with 1:22 to go in the game.

Freshman Joey Witthus extended the Mavericks' lead to 70-67 after a pair of free throws, but a layup from SMSU's Ryan Bruggeman brought the Mustangs back within one at 70-69 with 20 seconds left. Fuqua provided the exclamation point with a dunk to put the Mavericks back up by three at 72-69. SMSU's two three point attempts missed the mark in the final seconds as the Mavericks held on to the 72-69 win.    

Fuqua finished his night with a game-high 21 points, including a 7-of-8 performance from the line. Pendleton notched 18 points and six rebounds, while Herink chipped in with 11 points.

As a team, MSU shot 41.1% from the field, to go with a 22-of-26 (.846) showing from the charity stripe. The Mavericks also passed out 11 assists and recorded seven steals.

Mitch Weg and Ryan Bruggeman led the Mustang offense with 15 points each, while Joey Bartlett tallied a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. As a team, SMSU shot 43.9% from the field, as it hauled in 39 rebounds and passed out nine assists.

The Mavericks open play in the NSIC Tournament on Wednesday as they host Bemidji State in the opening round at Taylor Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.   

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