ABERDEEN, S.D. -  The Northern State men's basketball team improved to 6-0 on the season with a 77-52 NSIC-opening win over Upper Iowa (0-5, 0-1 NSIC) Friday night at Wachs Arena.  The Wolves scored first and led by as many as 30 points in the game.  And exciting game is due up Saturday night as #7-ranked Winona State comes to town for an 8:00 p.m. showing.

The Wolves blew past the Peacocks from the moment of tip-off through until the final buzzer sounded.  They started the game with a 13-5 run and led by double figures, 20-10, by the midpoint of the first half.  The Wolves shot 62.5 percent in the first half and took a 42-21 lead at the intermission.  They out-rebounded the Peacocks 35-25 overall.

The Peacocks committed 19 turnovers in the game, leading to 21 NSU points.  Despite hitting nearly 50% of their second half shots, the Peacocks finished the game with a shooting mark of 40.4 percent (21-52) and were down by at least 20 points for the entire second period.  The Wolves committed a fair share of turnovers themselves (15), but their offensive attack was no match for Upper Iowa.

Northern had four players finish the game with ten or more points.  Levi Hamilton shot 6-of-7 from the field and led all players with 14 points.  Kevin Ratzsch had 13 points and was followed by Robert Thomas with 12.  Mitch Boeck added another ten points.  Freshman Marty Gregor grabbed a game high seven rebounds.

Upper Iowa guard Matt Lesan was the only UIU player with double figures in scoring.  He finished with ten points.  Nick Kramer had five boards to lead the Peacocks.