Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University forward Mason Lund (13) attempts a 3-pointer during the first half of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference mens basketball game against Northern State on Friday at the R/A Facility in Marshall. SMSU defeated Northern State 79-60.

This story will be updated with stats, quotes and details

MARSHALL — Mason Lund scored 13 first-half points to lead the charge for an otherwise well-rounded scoring effort from the No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team in its game against Northern State on Friday night. The Mustangs used that early scoring efficiency to build a 23-point halftime lead and carried that advantage to their fifth consecutive win, 79-60. The win gives SMSU sole possession of first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The game marked the 13th annual “It’s a Slam Dunk – Don’t Drive Drunk” campaign for the Mustangs. The tradition commemorates SMSU head coach Brad Bigler’s five-month-old son Drake Bigler, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2012.

SMSU got everyone involved offensively in the first half, with each of its eight players to touch the court converting at least one field goal. While everyone’s fingerprints were on the Mustangs’ halftime lead, Lund in particular had the hot hand.

Lund shot 5 of 6 from the field heading into the break and 3 of 4 from 3. Among his shots from beyond the arc was a buzzer-beater to bring SMSU’s lead up to 41-18 at the half.

“Our guards did a good job of just getting into the paint. Once they get in there, they have a lot of options,” Lund when asked how he was able to find his open looks. “Their bigger guys kind of came off me to help out a little bit, and that’s what ended up leaving me open from outside.”

While Northern State outscored SMSU 9-0 off turnovers in the first half, the Mustangs’ extreme efficiency still allowed them to create a sizeable gap. The Mustangs scored 20 first-half points in the paint to Northern State’s 10 and shot 55.2% from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. The Wolves, meanwhile, shot 28.6% from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

“We’re just trying to force them into shot clock situations and give them less time, just trusting each other on defense,” Lund said of the Mustangs’ ability to limit the Wolves’ quality looks at the basket. “We know that we’re going to make the right rotations and take away some 3s from their shooters, and I think that was big in the first half.”

Lund finished the game with 17 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field. Steven Kramer and Aeron Stevens each contributed another 11 points for the Mustangs while Jakob Braaten, Caleb Schlaak, Landon Pokorski and Mekhi Shaw contributed 6, 7, 8 and 9 points respectively.

Kramer scored the game’s first points with a corner 3 off a feed from Lund, and a Braaten layup and a Lund 3-pointer gave SMSU a 10-1 lead off the bat.

The Mustangs held Northern State without a field goal made for the game’s first five-and-a-half minutes, Kaleb Mitchell ending the drought on a layup off a feed from Marcus Burks to trim SMSU’s lead to 7 points.

Yet, SMSU responded to the Wolves’ first bucket when Pokorski scored on a layup and then assisted Schlaak to an and-1. Braaten then hit another layup for the Mustangs to cap off a 7-0 run to bring SMSU’s edge up to 17-3.

SMSU finished the game with a 38-25 rebounding advantage, but that differential was even more pronounced in the first half with a 24-9 margin. Stevens led SMSU on the glass with nine rebounds while Pokorski and Schlaak added six and five respectively.

Schlaak’s game-high four offensive boards also led SMSU to a 9-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

As the second half began, SMSU continued to pile onto its lead. A Pokorski layup and a Calvin Buss alley-oop off an assist from Shaw brought Masrhall’s lead to its apex at 53-24.

Even aside from the oop, SHaw was elite in his ability to find open teammates in the game. He dished out a game-high six assists while Pokorski finished with another four for SMSU.

SMSU continued to make flashy plays in the second half as Aeron Stevens dunked on the second play out of halftime and Lund attempted another a long way from the rim but fell short.

“[The dunks are] definitely big-energy plays, especially in the second half… I had one that they were a little upset that I didn’t try to dunk in the first half, so I heard them yelling at me when I started to drive and figured I’d let it rip and see what happened,” Lund said with a laugh.

Schlaak grabbed a pair of steals and swatted a pair of shots for SMSU while Lund also registered a pair of steals and a block.

SMSU improves to 14-3 overall and 9-2 in conference play with the win, moving them past Minot State for sole possession of first place in the NISC following the Beavers’ 78-69 loss to Wayne State on Friday. The Mustangs will aim to retain their lead when they host UMary (4-16, 2-9 NSIC) today at 3:30 p.m.