Box Score

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Joey Bartlett scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to lead No. 2 seed Southwest Minnesota State to a 93-82 victory over No. 7 seed Arkansas Tech in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament at Bearcat Arena.
 
SMSU, 27-5 overall, will advance to Sunday's region semifinals and face East Central University (Okla.) at 5 p.m. ECSU advanced to tomorrow's game with a 115-106 overtime victory over MSU Moorhead.
 
Bartlett finished the game connecting on 6 of 12 field goals with three 3-pointers, while making 10 of 14 free throws. Carter Kirk added 15 points for the Mustangs, teammate Michael Lee tied a career-high with 14 points, while Ryan Bruggeman chipped in with 12 points and dished out nine assists with zero turnovers.
 
SMSU, which committed a season-low six turnovers in the contest, shot 48 percent (31 of 64) from the field, including 10 of 25 from 3-point range.
 
ATU (21-8) shot 40 percent (29 of 73) for the game, but just 31 percent in the second half. The Wonderboys closed the game making 12 of 36 3-pointers. ATU entered the game ranking fourth in Division II averaging 12 3-pointers per game.
 
SMSU finished the game making 21 of 29 free throws, including attempting 27 in the second half.
 
Both teams were red-hot shooting from 3-point range in the opening half with SMSU making eight of 18 3-pointers, while ATU connected on seven of 16 from long range.
 
SMSU held a 13-12 lead with 14:40 left in the first before a Taylor Schafer field goal started a 9-1 run to give SMSU its largest lead of the half at 24-13 with 12:04 remaining following a layup by Kirk. Bartlett highlighted the run with three straight field goals, including a 3-pointer.
 
Lee would make a 3-pointer to give the Mustangs a 29-21 advantage at the 10:40 mark, but the Wonderboys countered with a seven straight points to but the deficit to 29-28.
 
Bartlett made his third 3-pointer of the half with 7:25 remaining to give SMSU a 37-30 lead with 7:25 left, but ATU would slowly cut into the deficit and tie the game at 46 with 1:43 left. ATU closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 48-46 lead at halftime.
 
Bartlett led SMSU with 13 points in the opening half, while SMSU shot 49 percent as a team.
 
ATU built a four-point lead early in the second half, but SMSU answered with a 3-pointer by KJ Davis and a layup by Kirk to regain a 53-52 lead.
 
Tied at 57 with 17 minutes remaining, SMSU reeled off nine straight points, including seven from the free throw line to build a 66-57 margin.
 
SMSU maintained a 69-65 lead with 11 minutes left before layups by Kirk and Schafer and a pair of free throws by Bartlett pushed the lead to 75-65 with nine minutes remaining.
 
The Wonderboys made another push and trimmed the deficit to 78-71 with just under eight minutes left, but four straight points from Bartlett and a layup by Mitch Weg gave the Mustangs an 84-71 lead.
 
ATU would not go away and made the score 88-82 at the 1:14 mark, but SMSU closed the game with three free throws and a layup, while holding ATU scoreless to seal its first NCAA win since the 2009 region championship game.
 
Justin Graham scored 20 points to lead ATU.