Photo by Samantha Davis. Southwest Minnesota State University's Caleb Schlaak goes for a reverse layup in the first half against University of Mary Saturday afternoon in the R/A Facility at SMSU. Schlaak finished with 6 points and two steals in the Mustangs' 81-55 win.

MARSHALL — Behind 43 combined points from Jakob Braaten and Mason Lund, the No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team stuck together and prevailed for a competitive 81-55 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory Saturday afternoon over the University of Mary. The Mustangs improve 15-3 overall, tying the best record after 18 games with the 2016-17 team.

SMSU went into half time with a 6-point lead after a back-and-forth first half that had eight lead changes and five ties in itself. The Mustangs broke through midway through the second half with selfless offense and cohesive defensive plays to save the game. Once they were able to grab its first double-digit lead, the game stayed in favor of SMSU.

“I think the first half, we didn’t really come out ready to play. The second half, you could tell that we came together a little bit more,” Braaten said. “We hunkered down on defense, got a couple stops and a couple steals that led to easy transition.”

SMSU overall shot 49% from the field and 41% from the 3-point line, and made 16 of 24 free throw attempts. Mary was limited to 36-32% shooting clips, and went 6 of 14 at the line. A difference maker was the Mustangs’ 12 steals and 38 paint points, to the Marauders’ four steals and 22 points in the paint.

Braaten finished with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds, with four assists and three steals. Lund finished with 18 points, tying a career high, and six rebounds. The duo both shot 3 for 4 from the perimeter.

The win marks six straight for the Mustangs, who took over first place in the NSIC after Friday night’s 79-60 win over Northern State and Minot State’s loss to Wayne State.

“You know, you see the records and then you start to get in your head a little bit,” Braaten said. “Obviously, we know we’re up towards the top … We are just trying to battle and just keep our same mentality that we just want to win.”

The Mustangs came into the second half with a 40-34 lead, looking to find areas of the court to outshine the Marauders on after a nearly neck-and-neck shooting and defensive performance in the first.

SMSU shot 43% from the field, 41% from the arc and committed four turnovers in the first half, compared to Mary’s 47-40% shooting marks and five turnovers.

“We just have to respect everybody in this league,” Braaten said regarding what the team talked about at the half. “This league is so deep, where it could be a win or a loss in whatever game it is.”

Starting to break away slightly, Landon Pokorski grabbed a defensive rebound after hitting a 3-pointer, which transitioned to a Calvin Buss layup and-1 from a Mekhi Shaw assist, and the Mustangs grew to a 52-44 lead with just under 12 minutes to go.

Shaw finished with a team-high five assists.

Braaten, who is coming off a fresh NSIC Player of the Week Honor for the first time in his career, was an offensive spark for SMSU through the night. A layup and a free throw gave the team their first double-digit lead, 56-46, but Mary immediately followed it up with a jumper.

With six minutes to go, SMSU was able to break away on a run and started to create a cushion. A Steven Kramer steal and layup, Braaten drive, Caleb Schlaak tip-in and an Aeron Stevens and-1 layup with a free throw created a 16-point advantage, 67-51.

Braaten and Kramer each nailed a 3-pointer with less than three minutes to go, and the Maraunders couldn’t get enough momentum going to try and come back. SMSU eclipsed a 22-point lead, 77-55.

Kramer finished with a game-high four steals.

The Mustangs cruised through the final few minutes.

The Mustangs and Marauders were within reach of one another in several categories throughout the first half. The largest differences were SMSU’s 21 rebounds and 11 assists, to Mary’s 16 boards and seven assists.

“I talked about that a little bit at half. Our energy tends to dive down right around that 10 minute mark,” Braaten said. “[We have to] power up through that where we can, keep playing with pace and keep defending so we can make it to the last 10 minutes.”

Both Lund and Braaten were in double digits by the end of the half, with 14 and 12 points respectively.

Shaw got the game started with a free throw after being fouled driving to the basket. From the jump, both teams went after one another and traded baskets.

Pokorski and Lund each hit a 3-pointer to give SMSU a 15-11 lead in an attempt to create leverage. Lund drove in from the wing for a dunk on the next play, but Mary responded with a 3 of its own to bring its deficit back within a possession.

Braaten began to heat up and hit two straight field goals with a 3-pointer to build a Mustang 24-17 advantage.

“I really just read and react to the defense. It could be anybody that goes off on any given night,” Braaten said. “But, I just took what the defense gave me tonight.”

Following along with the trend, Mary went on an 8-0 run behind a pair of 3’s and a lay up to create another lead change.

Lund drilled in a 3-pointer to stop the Marauder run, but Mary went in for a fast break layup off the steal in response to tie the game at 27.

The half ended with an exchange by both teams committing fouls and shooting free throws, until Lund hit one more 3 at the buzzer to bring SMSU into the locker room up 40-34.

SMSU (15-3, 10-2) will look to keep its stride going when it next hits the road to face Bemidji State (6-11, 3-8) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.