St. Cloud, Minn. – St. Cloud State University held off a second half surge by Southwest Minnesota State University and went on to post a 91-83 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) men's basketball win Friday night at Halenbeck Hall.

The Huskies improved to 10-3 overall and 6-3 in the NSIC. Southwest Minnesota State is 9-6 and 6-3 in the NSIC following the loss. St. Cloud State hosts the University of Sioux Falls tomorrow at 6 p.m. The Cougars lost to Minnesota Duluth, 86-64.

St. Cloud State senior guard Damarius Cruz (Plymouth) equaled his career high and led all scorers with a 25-point performance. He made four of five three-point field goal attempts, was eight of 12 from the field, and had three assists and two steals to complete his line score.

Senior center Chris Larson (Hudson, Iowa) knocked down a career high 18 points on six of nine shooting from the field. He also had three blocked shots for the Huskies.

A third senior, forward Matt Craggs (Kimberly, WIs.) posted the Huskies first double double of the season as he scored 17 points and pulled down a career high 12 rebounds.

Also scoring in double figures was junior guard Kevin Levandoski (Appleton, Wis.) with 11 points, four assists and four steals and sophomore guard Jordan Poydras (De Pere, Wis.) with ten points.

The Huskies shot 50.8 percent from the field and made 56 percent of their shots in the second half. The Huskies also made seven of 15 three-point attempts. St. Cloud State out-rebounded the Mustangs 29-27.

Southwest Minnesota State had four players score in double figures led by Shaun Condon with 15 points. Vinard Birch added 14 points, Nick Smith 13 and Matt Zager 12 points. The Mustangs shot an amazing 71.4 percent from the field in the second half, making 20 of 28 field goal attempts and finished the game with a 64 percent field goal shooting percentage.

The Huskies largest lead of the game was 17 points midway through the first half and St. Cloud State went into halftime with a 44-31 lead. A Nick Smith jumper cut the Huskies lead to two points, 54-52 at the 12:21 mark of the second half. Four minutes later a Vinard Birch jumper drew the Mustangs within one point, 59-58.

Three times in the final seven minutes, SMSU closed to within two points, the last at 3:08 on a William Giddings dunk. Larson scored six of the Huskies next eight points and the Huskies led 81-74 at the 1:25 mark. Levandoski made six free throws in the final 1:16 of the game.