The Spur

Issue date: 1/25/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Andrew Stoll Sophomore Matt Fletcher shoots a jump shot for three over a Winona State guard. The Mustangs lost to Winona State after making a late game run. The Mustangs have since beat Minnesota-Crookston while losing to Bemidji State.

The three pointer--the trademark for the Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team thus far this season. The Mustangs are known as a team to be reckoned with when their touch from behind the arc is hot. However, once cooled down it has been the demise of the Mustangs.

That was exactly the case this past weekend when the Mustangs met up with NSIC opponents the University of Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State University. The Mustangs lit it up from three point land and demolished UMC; they then went 2 of 12 in the second half behind the arc and dropped a close one to BSU.

The Mustangs used a 10-0 run to start the game and shot a stellar 58.8 percent from three-point range in route to a 74-46 win against the UMC Golden Eagles.

"We were shooting pretty well," said Chad Orum a junior justice administration student. "We probably have some of the best shooters in the conference but that begins with penetrating to the basket so they can get open."

Matt Fletcher, Undre Ellis, and Travis Krenske each posted a game-high 17 points while red shirt freshman Ross DeMasi saw some quality time and had 10 points with a team-high of six rebounds.

Prior to defeating the Golden Eagles, the Mustangs suffered a close conference loss to the Bemidji State Beavers. SMSU shot an uncharacteristic 28 percent from behind the arc in the 70-66 loss.

"Our shots just didn't drop," said Andy Weirsma, a senior math education student. "We made mistakes early on that cost us."

"Bemidji is really athletic," Orum said. "They jumped on us right away and we weren't playing our best game."

The Mustangs kept it close throughout, however, as the game was tied with 1:44 remaining. SMSU missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left that would have given them the lead.

The Mustangs added to their shooting woes by committing 16 turnovers.

"Bemidji runs a tough full-court defense," Weirsma said. "They're athletic and they forced us to make some turnovers."

Krenske led SMSU with 18 points but shot just 2 of 10 from behind the arc. Fletcher and Orum added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The weekend's conference games put SMSU at 9-8 overall and 2-4 in the NSIC. The Mustangs are back in action on Jan. 28 as they take on Wayne State.

"We're going to have to rebound well against Wayne State," Weirsma said. "Our record is good when we out-rebound teams."

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