Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University’s Caleb Schlaak (front) attempts a layup during a mens basketball game against UMary on Saturday at the R/A Facility in Marshall.

MARSHALL — After taking over sole possession of first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference last weekend, the No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State University mens basketball team will look to create further breathing room on the road when it takes on Bemidji State and St. Cloud State on Saturday and Sunday.

Last weekend, the Mustangs defeated Northern State 79-60 and UMary 81-55 to extend their winning streak to six games, its longest win streak since the 2017-18 team won 10 in a row. The recent surge now has SMSU at 10-2 in the NSIC, one game ahead of Minot State and Concordia-St. Paul.

Just behind the top group, St. Cloud State is tied with Minnesota State for fourth in the NSIC at 8-4. Bemidji State, meanwhile, sits in 12th out of 15 teams at 3-9.

Mason Lund had the hot hand in SMSU’s wins last weekend, scoring 17 points on 6 of 7 shooting against Northern State and 18 points on the same efficiency against UMary. Jakob Braaten also set team-highs with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Saturday’s win over UMary while Aeron Stevens finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points against Northern State.

SMSU has won seven of its last 10 meetings against Bemidji State and eight of its last 10 against St. Cloud. It’s been particularly hot against the Huskies, having won five straight games since against them since its last loss in 2019.

Defense has gotten SMSU where it is so far. Its 65.3 points allowed per game is the best mark in the NSIC, and the Mustangs’ 40.1% field goal percentage allowed and 31.0% 3-point percentage allowed rank first and third in the NSIC respectively.

The Mustangs’ opponents, however, haven’t been as successful. Bemidji State and St. Cloud rank 11th and 12th in opponent field goal percentage at 45.2% and 46.2%, and Bemidji State’s 36.9% 3-point percentage allowed is 12th in the conference.

While St. Cloud State’s 73.9 points allowed per game ranks 10th in the NSIC, the discrepancy can in part be attributed to pace. The Huskies average 1 more point per game than the Mustangs on offense despite shooting less efficiently from the field and from 3.

SMSU’s offense so far has been sustained by its scoring depth. Aeron Stevens has led the team with 15.4 points per game, but Jakob Braaten (13.9), Dunwa Omot (10.9), Steven Kramer (10.3) and Mason Lund (10.) each average double figures.

Omot has been unable to play due to an injury but the rest of the team has stepped up in his absence. In addition to Lund’s hot hand last week, the Mustangs activated true freshman Landon Pokorski, who has scored at least 6 points in each of his first three collegiate games. He’s also shot 4 of 9 from 3-point range to start his Division II career.

Bemidji State’s Tate Olson has been a tough player to keep off the glass, ranking fourth in the NSIC with 9.1 total rebounds per game. Still, Bemidji State’s averaging rebounding margin of 0.6 ranks just 10th in the conference while SMSU’s 2.3 ranks seventh, one spot ahead of St. Cloud State’s plus-2.1.

Stevens has led SMSU on the glass with 6.5 boards per game and the undersized Braaten ranks 16th at 6.2 Lund also cracks the top 20 in the conference with 5.9 rebounds per game while St. Cloud State is led by Wyatt Hawks, whose 8.2 rank fifth.

Offensively, Nate Dahl and Luke Winkel have been St. Cloud’s leading scorers with 13 and 12.6 points per game on the season.

With a pair of wins this weekend, SMSU would be guaranteed to gain at least one game of space between itself and one of the two teams tied for second, as Minot State and Concordia-St. Paul play each other on Friday.

SMSU’s game at Bemidji State is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. while Saturday’s game at St. Cloud State is slated for 3:30 p.m. A radio broadcast of the games can be found at 105.1 FM KARL while live stats and video are available online at SMSUmustangs.com