FAYETTE, Iowa – The No. 18-ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs were able to score a 68-56 win over the Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team at Dorman Memorial Gym on the Upper Iowa University campus.
 
The Mustangs stayed perfect on the season by moving to 4-0. Northwest dropped to 1-4 overall. Northwest limited SMSU to 4-of-23 shooting from three-point range, while the Bearcats hit 8-of-28 from deep in the contest.
 
Northwest's only lead of the game came at 3-0. The Mustangs led by as many as 14 points in the non-conference matchup.
 
The Mustangs led by as many as 14 points in the opening half at 30-16. The Bearcats were able to trim the lead to six points at the break, 32-26, following a 7-0 run in the final two minutes of the first half. The Bearcats five three-pointers before halftime with Spencer Schomers leading the way with a trio of deep triples, including one just before the halftime buzzer. Schomers tallied a team-high 11 points in the opening 20 minutes. Northwest slowed down Southwest Minnesota State's outside attack by holding the Mustangs to 1-of-13 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
 
Northwest continued its 9-0 scoring run into the second half when Padraig Gallagher scored to cut the Southwest Minnesota State lead to four at 32-28. Northwest cut its deficit to three at 40-37 on a Ja'Vion Byers bucket with 13:26 to play. The Mustangs increased the lead back to seven at 44-37 before Luke Moustakas buried his first bucket of the game to trim the lead to five at 44-39 with 12:00 to play.
 
The Mustangs put up a 13-2 spurt to increase its lead to 53-39 with 9:08 to play. Two buckets from Emorie Knox and Schomers pulled the Bearcats to within 10 at 53-43 with 7:26 left in the game. Marcus Glock buried his second three-pointer of the game to cut the SMSU lead to single digits at 56-48 with 5:00 to go in the contest. Glock hit a jumper with 4:10 left to complete a 7-0 run for the Bearcats and get within six points at 56-50. The Mustangs pushed the lead back to 60-50 on a pair of field goals. Glock drew a foul with 1:12 to play and went to the line where he split a pair to draw Northwest to within nine at 60-51, but that would be as close as Northwest could get the rest of the way.
 
The Bearcats will be back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. in Fayette against Concordia, St. Paul.
 
NOTES: Marcus Glock put up his first collegiate double-figure scoring game with 11 points … Glock went 4-of-7 from the floor and knocked in a pair of three-pointers … Spencer Schomers led Northwest in scoring (15), rebounding (8) with blocks (2) … Luke Moustakas has made at least one three-pointer in all five games this season … Southwest Minnesota State holds a 5-4 lead in the all-time series between the two schools.