BOX SCORE

ABERDEEN, S.D. - Wachs Arena was rocking on Saturday evening as 5,454 fans turned out to witness history.  Northern State's 87-78 win over the University of Mary gave head coach Don Meyer his 879th career win, tying him with Dean Smith on the NCAA all-time wins list.  NSU junior Kevin Ratzsch also surpassed the 1,000 point mark of his career in the locally televised event.  Ranked #12 in the nation, the Wolves improve to 17-1 on the year, the second best start through 18 games in the NSU books.

Although the Wolves led by as many as 15 points in the game against the Marauders, who are 6-11 on the year and 3-6 in the NSIC, the game kept fans on the edge of their seats through the final minute.  The Marauders were within five points of the Wolves with less than 30 seconds to play and threatened NSU's winning streak, which now stands at 11 games.

Northern allowed the Marauders a 51.9% first half shooting performance and also came up short on rebounds, 13-15.  U-Mary gained the lead near the midpoint of the half and was up by as many as five points before the Wolves got things together.  NSU took back the scoring edge in the final five minutes of the half, hitting four of their last six field goals and all eight of their free throw attempts.  They led 87-78 at the break.  Levi Hamilton was the work horse for the Wolves in the first 20 minutes, dropping in 7-of-9 shots for 15 points.

The Wolves pushed their second half lead to double figures for much of the period, but the Marauders battled back in the closing minutes to threaten the game.  An 8-0 UM run tightened the score from a 12 point NSU lead to a margin of just four points, 74-70 with 2:40 to play.  Free throws and layups from the Wolves kept the home team ahead and sealed the win, 87-78.

The Wolves made the Marauders pay for their mistakes, turning UM's ten turnovers into 20 points.  Northern, on the other hand, committed just four turnovers throughout the course of the game.  They out-shot U-Mary 49.1% to 47.5%, with both teams hitting nine three-point shots.  The Marauders led on the boards, however, 36-32.

Levi Hamilton finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds.  Luke Wicks had 15 points, followed by Kevin Ratzsch with 13.  Ratzsch's fifth point of the night gave him 1,000 career points.  Also scoring in double figures for NSU were Craig Nelson (11) and Kyle Schwan (10).  Robert Thomas matched Hamilton's nine rebounds for the team lead.

The Marauders were paced by Jordan Wilhelm, who hit four three-pointers on his way to 21 points.  Eric Erdmann had 15 points, followed by Geoff West with 12.  Jordan Engelhardt led the Marauders with seven rebounds.

Northern State is on the road next weekend, playing at Winona State on Friday night and Upper Iowa on Saturday.