The Mustangs eked out a 62-61 win over Northern State on Friday at Wachs Arena in an intense Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball game.
Nick Smith scored a game-winning layup to lift Southwest to the win with three seconds left.
"We have had a tough streak the last couple of games," said Smith, who finished with a game-high 14 points, "so it is good to finally pull one off."
Coming into the game the Mustangs' five conference losses had all been decided by eight points or less, including four by five points or less. Southwest's last two conference losses were both by two points.
"That is exactly what we thought we would be getting," NSU coach Paul Sather said about the close contest. "We know they are a good team."
It looked as if the Wolves were going to break the Mustangs' heart again on Friday. Mack Arvidson drilled a three-pointer to give NSU its first lead of the game at 61-60 with 34 seconds left.
Did the Mustangs think they were going to drop another close one?
"To be honest, it wasn't like that," Smith said. "In the past, it might have been, but tonight we had that feeling that we can get it done tonight."
After Arvidson's three-pointer, Southwest guard Jordan Miller missed a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. The Mustangs retained possession after the Wolves deflected the ball out-of-bounds. Southwest called a timeout with nine seconds left to draw up a play.
Smith said the play was designed for Miller take the shot. The Wolves defended Miller well on the play, but Smith slipped to the basket to the basket after setting a screen for Miller. Smith caught a deflected pass on the play and scored the game-winning layup.
"We got a loose ball," Sather said, "they pick it up and that is how the game finishes."
Miller, whose cousins Ryan and Jared Miller played for NSU, finished with 12 points. Matt Zager also scored 12 points for the Mustangs. Arvidson and Geoffrey Firmin both finished with 11 points for the Wolves. Collin Pryor added a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Wolves had to play catch-up for the entire night. Southwest, which qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament last season, led by as much as 11 points in the first half. The Mustangs led 31-24 at halftime.
"I just felt like in the first half we didn't do the things that we do well," Sather said. "We didn't get a rebounding gap on them in the first half. We gave them some second opportunities."
Every time the Wolves trimmed the deficit, the Mustangs answered with a big run. NSU cut the lead to 34-32 with 17 minutes left. Southwest answered with a 6-0 run for some breathing room.
"We would get it to three or four, they would push it back to seven or eight," Sather said. "That is frustrating always coming back from that, but the guys kept fighting."
The Wolves faced a 58-51 deficit with four minutes left. NSU went on a 7-0 run to knot it up at 58-58 with under two minutes remaining on a pair of Mitch White free throws. Matt Zager put Southwest back on top 60-58 on a jumper with 56 seconds left. Arvidson then made his clutch three-pointer to give NSU its first lead of the night.
"Really big shot," Sather said about the true freshman. "He was kind of into it a little bit offensively. A lot of guys made plays late for us that got us back into it."
Neither team scored again until Smith's layup with three seconds left. After a timeout, the Wolves tried a full length desperation shot. However, Jared Hannigan's pass down the court sailed out of bounds. Southwest inbounded the ball under its basket and ran out the clock.
"It was awesome," Smith said about the game-winner. "It felt fantastic."
Northern State (13-5, 8-3) will play the University of Sioux Falls at 7 p.m. tonight in another NSIC contest. The Cougars lost to Minnesota State-Moorhead 80-53 on Friday.
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE (9-9, 6-5): Tramel Barnes, 1-2 6-6 8, Vinard Birch 2-5 0-0 4, Jordan Miller 4-13 4-4 12, Matt Zager 6-11 0-0 12, Nick Smith 6-10, 2-4 14, William Giddings 3-4 0-0 8, Shaun Condon 1-2 0-0 2, Lavione West 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 24-52 12-14 62.
NORTHERN STATE (13-5, 8-3): Mitch White 1-1 2-2 5, Geoffrey Firmin 4- 3-4 11, Michael Emge 1-7 0-2 3, Collin Pryor 5-13 0-2 10, Dustin Tetzlaff 3-5 1-4 7, Skye Warwick 3-7 0-0 8, Jared Hannigan 0-3 0-0 0, Mack Arvidson 4-9 0-0 11, Trent Zomer 2-4 0-0 4, Seth Bachand 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 24-59 6-15 61.
Halftime - SMSU 31-24. 3-point field goals - SMSU 2-9 (Miller 0-5, Zager 0-1, Giddings 2-2, Condon 0-1); NSU 7-22 (White 1-1, Emge 1-7, Warwick 2-5, Hannigan 0-3, Arvidson 3-6). Total fouls - SMSU 13; NSU 14. Fouled out - No one. Rebounds - SMSU 32 (Barnes 7); NSU 38 (Pryor 14). Turnovers - SMSU 9; NSU 9. Assists - SMSU 12 (Miller 6); NSU 13 (Firmin 3). Steals - SMSU 5 (Miller 4); NSU 7 (Tetzlaff 2, Bachand 2). Blocked shots - SMSU 5 (Smith 4); NSU 4 (Tetzlaff 2). Officials - Keswic Joiner, Blaine Joerger, Jacob Welch. A - 2,854.