The Southwestern men’s basketball team got a clutch performance from Jaylon Smith down the stretch here Saturday on sophomore night.
Smith scored 31 points and shot 14-of-18 from the free throw line, including several free throws in the final minute of a one-possession game, as the Spartans held off Iowa Lakes in a 76-69 victory.
“Jaylon was pretty spectacular the entire night, offensively,” head coach Todd Lorensen said. “A lot there at the free throw line late in the game. He was a big key in us surviving the first half. We didn’t play very well, but he made some big shots. TJ Bower did some nice things. Mataika (Koyamainavure) didn’t have his best game, but he still finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.”
Smith sank five 3-pointers and dished out six assists. Bower added 12 points.
Sophomores honored were Tanner Kellogg, Koyamainavure, Smith, Nikola Drobnjak and Josh Kirk.
The win came on the heels of Thursday’s 81-73 win over NIACC, in which the Spartans let a 60-43 lead with 12 minutes to go slip away down to two points with 30 seconds left.
“Thursday’s game, if we lose that game, we still could have ended up seventh in the league,” Lorensen said. “That was a big game for us. Had to make a big play to calm the storm. Proud of the guys to find a way to get the win on the road.”
The Spartans finished the regular season 22-9 overall and 6-6 in ICCAC Division II play to earn the 3-seed in the Region XI Tournament. Southwestern hosts 6-seed Iowa Central (16-14, 4-8) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a “Red Out,” where fans are asked to wear red.
Southwestern and Iowa Central split during the regular season, with the Spartans scoring a 91-63 home win just 11 days ago.
Thursday
NIACC (73) — Mike Udume 8 6-8 24, Al Davis 3 6-7 14, Braxton Williams 4 2-4 12, Conor Lang 2 1-5 6, Mark Lowe 2 0-0 5, Juafonyay Lyte 2 0-0 4, Jason Kay 1 1-4 4, Boy Van Vliet 1 0-0 2, Trei Mitchell 0 2-2 2. Totals — 23 18-30 73. FG shooting — 23-63 (36.5 percent). 3-point goals — 9-27 (Davis 2, Williams 2, Udume 2, Lang 1, Kay 1, Lowe 1). Rebounds — 28. Assists — 12. Steals — 7. Blocked shots — 0. Turnovers — 9. Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — none.
SOUTHWESTERN (81) — Jaylon Smith 7 5-5 24, Mataika Koyamainavure 8 1-4 17, Josh Kirk 4 2-6 10, Simon Joseph 4 0-1 8, Ahmad Newsome 2 3-4 8, Jok Kut 2 3-3 7, Josh Tolbert 1 2-2 5, TJ Bower 0 2-2 2. Totals — 28 18-27 81. FG shooting — 28-51 (54.9 percent). 3-point goals — 7-18 (Smith 5, Newsome 1, Tolbert 1). Rebounds — 44 (Tolbert 6, Koyamainavure 5, Newsome 5, Kut 4, Smith 4, Bower 4). Assists — 15 (Smith 5, Bower 5). Steals — 4 (Kut 1, Koyamainavure 1, Smith 1, Bower 1). Blocked shots — 5 (Koyamainavure 2, Smith 2). Turnovers — 16. Team fouls — 21. Fouled out — none.
NIACC — 30 73
SWCC — 38 81
Saturday
IOWA LAKES (69) — Rachard Moody 5 5-8 16, Lucas Smith 7 0-1 15, Brendan Tucek 5 1-3 11, Kyle Bauer 3 2-2 9, Blake Wilder 2 2-3 6, Trey Burkhall 2 1-2 6, Justin Sloter 2 0-0 5, Brandon Boggs 0 1-2 1. Totals — 26 12-21 69. FG shooting — 26-66 (39.4 percent). 3-point goals — 5-22 (Smith 1, Moody 1, Burkhall 1, Bauer 1, Sloter 1). Rebounds — 33. Assists — 10. Steals — 9. Blocked shots — 1. Turnovers — 10. Team fouls — 29. Fouled out — Burkhall, Harmon.
SOUTHWESTERN (76) — Jaylon Smith 6 14-18 31, TJ Bower 4 2-2 12, Mataika Koyamainavure 4 2-2 10, Jok Kut 3 1-2 8, Ahmad Newsome 1 4-4 6, Tanner Kellogg 1 0-0 3, Josh Tolbert 1 0-0 3, Simon Joseph 1 1-3 3. Totals — 21 24-31 76. FG shooting — 21-53 (39.6 percent). 3-point goals — 10-26 (Smith 5, Bower 2, Kellogg 1, Tolbert 1, Kut 1). Rebounds — 36 (Koyamainavure 12, Newsome 4, Smith 4, Kut 4, Joseph 4). Assists — 15 (Smith 6, Newsome 4, Dylan Mason 3). Steals — 4 (Koyamainavure 1, Newsome 1, Smith 1, Joseph 1). Blocked shots — 3 (Smith 2). Turnovers — 16. Team fouls — 14. Fouled out — Newsome.
ILCC — 27 69
SWCC — 28 76