ANAHEIM, Calif. – UNCP scored 14 of the game's first 17 points to set the tone early, but Southwest Minnesota State put together a 14-0 run to close the first half and shot better than 50 percent from the field to key a 77-58 win over the Braves on Saturday evening at the Disney West Coast Tip Off Classic in Anaheim Arena.

Redshirt freshman Quamain Rose scored a game-high 12 points and added five rebounds and a trio of assists to pace UNCP (1-1), who also got 10 points from Shahmel Brackett and seven rebounds from George Blakeney. Jordan Miller tallied a game-best 17 points for the Mustangs (1-1), while Nick Smith turned in a double-double with 12 points and a dozen boards. Matt Zager and Lavione West both chipped in 10 points for SMSU as well.

"They lost a tough one (to Cal State Dominguez Hills) yesterday and they came out with a lot of fight and determination against us today," said UNCP head coach Ben Miller. "We got taken to the shed in a lot of areas but, when you schedule tough teams early, you're going to find out quick how good you are. We have been able to identify some key areas that we need to work on and hopefully that will help us going forward."

Southwest Minnesota State stretched a 9-point halftime lead out to a baker's dozen in the first 36 seconds of the second stanza, but Blakeney and Rose keyed a scoring spurt shortly thereafter that whittled UNCP's deficit down to just five points, 43-38, on K.J. Cooper's jumper with 17 minutes to play. SMSU would steadily pull away, however, and extended its lead to as much as 21 points on Smith's layup with 5:37 left.

The Mustangs shot just 10 percent (1-of-10) from the field and turned the ball four times in the game's opening 8-1/2 minutes as UNCP built its first half lead out to as much as 11 points after a 3-pointer by Griffin Pittman at the 11:30 mark. Southwest Minnesota State would respond in a big way, however, as a trey by Jordan Buddenhagen sparked the defending NSIC Tournament champions on a 14-0 run that saw them connect on 67 percent (12-of-18) of their attempts from the field and take a 39-30 advantage into the locker rooms.

UNCP will close out its stay at the Disney West Coast Tip Off Classic on Sunday when they suit up to battle seventh-ranked Winona State (2-0) in a 2 p.m. contest in Anaheim Arena.