RYAN BRUGGEMAN SCORES 49 POINTS TO LEAD SW MN STATE PAST UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ryan Bruggeman (Sr., Pelican Rapids) scored a Southwest Minnesota State record 49 points to lead his team past the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles 100-78 in a Northern Sun Conference (NSIC) game played at R/A Facility in Marshall, Minnesota.

Ryan Bruggeman scored the first two of his 49 points on the Mustangs opening possession with a fadeaway, contested jump shot from the top of the key. Southwest Minnesota State scored a lay-up off an offensive rebound to stake a 4-0 lead before Gable Smith (Sr., Lodi, WI) knocked down a long two-point jump shot cutting UMC’s deficit in half. A pair of Brian Sitzmann (Fr., Savage) free-throws trimmed Minnesota Crookston’s deficit down to 6-4 before a 13-0 Mustangs’ run including ten points from Bruggeman gave the hosts a 19-4 lead. Javier Nicolau (Jr., Castellon, Spain) stopped SMSU’s run with a lay-up bringing the Golden Eagles within 19-6 with 13:43 left in the first half. Nicolau buried a jumper for Minnesota Crookston’s next basket, but Southwest Minnesota State responded with a three-pointer to take a 22-8 lead. With 8:59 left in the first half Darin Viken (Sr., Fosston) knocked down a corner three-pointer trimming the host’s lead down to 32-20. A Harrison Cleary (Jr., Oak Creek, WI) three-pointer sparked a 5-0 UMC run pulling the Golden Eagles within 40-34 before the Mustangs sank another three-pointer to regain a nine-point lead. Ryan Bruggeman scored the final five points of the first half to help Southwest Minnesota State take a 54-43 lead into the locker room. “The first possession of the game we gave up an offensive rebound and a basket and that kind of set the tone,” explained Minnesota Crookston head coach Dan Weisse. “We’ve just got to be tougher and be better. They shot 62% in that first half and had a lot of open shots, that’s the problem. We’ve got to be locked in, and we had too many mental mistakes.”

Gable Smith made a lay-up to open the second half scoring, but Southwest Minnesota State responded with four-straight points. Gable Smith scored on back-to-back possessions for Minnesota Crookston bringing UMC back within 58-49 with 18:16 to play. Another Gable Smith score brought the Golden Eagles back within nine with 16:57, but UMC wouldn’t pull within single digits the rest of the night. Southwest Minnesota State made three-straight three-pointers followed by a lay-up to take a 71-51 lead with 13:25 to play and never looked back. The final highlight of the night came with 1:07 remaining when Ryan Bruggeman buried a step-back three-pointer in front of his bench to secure his school-record forty-ninth point of the night to close out Southwest Minnesota State’s 100-78 win. “(Ryan Bruggeman) is a good player,” summarized Weisse. “We wanted to make their other guys hurt us. We didn’t really handle our assignments. I’m really concerned about how we handle this loss and move into Sioux Falls tomorrow. (Bruggeman) is one of the best players to play in this league. Period. He showed it tonight. We’ve got to recover from this and prepare for a very good team tomorrow.”

UMC falls 13-11 overall and 6-9 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court Saturday against Sioux Falls with tipoff set for 6 p.m. on KROX. SMSU improves to 12-9 overall and 7-8 in the NSIC.