BOX SCORE
WINONA, Minn. – The action of the game was certainly deserving of the matchup between #3-ranked Winona State and #7-ranked Northern State. The decision went down to the wire, but did not end the way the Wolves had hoped, as the Warriors claimed their ninth straight win over NSU with a final score of 71-66. Winona takes a two game lead in the NSIC standings with a 10-0 record (21-1 overall), while the Wolves drop just their second decision of the season (17-2, 8-2 NSIC).
The entire game came down to a strenuous final three minutes. The Wolves trailed 60-66, but came on strong on the boards to tighten the score.
Levi Hamilton grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the first of two shots from the stripe after being fouled. Hamilton got the ball back for the Wolves following a Winona miss and
Luke Wicks found nothing but net from three-point range to bring the score to 64-66.
Another miss from the Warriors was corralled in by
Craig Nelson, who created his own shot off of the dribble to tie the score with 1:53 left on the clock. Smith laid in two points to give the lead back to the Warriors. The tension was as high as it could get in McCown Gymnasium as the Wolves inbounded the ball on their own end with 30 seconds remaining. An unfortunate turnover gave the ball back to the Warriors, who closed out the final time, hitting just 3-of-6 free throws, but keeping the Wolves scoreless with a staggering defense. They pulled out the 71-66 win in quite possibly the best NSIC matchup of the season, to date.
The Warriors led for the majority of the game, but the Wolves never allowed WSU to get past a manageable distance. In the first half, the Wolves used a bucket from
Kevin Ratzsch, a steal from Nelson and a quick three-point shot from
Luke Wicks to rally back from a nine-point deficit, the largest of the game, to trail by just four with six minutes left.
The Warriors went back up by nine, but the tide turned again as the Wolves picked up the defensive pressure and kept the Warriors to just two points in the last four and a half minutes. Northern rattled off six unanswered points, including a set of field goals from
Robert Thomas before Ben Fischer hit a jumper for the Warriors. Back on NSU's end, Hamilton turned an offensive board into a set of made free throws. Just before the close of the half,
Kevin Ratzsch laid in an offensive rebound to complete the 10-2 half-ending run. The Wolves trailed by just a point, 34-33.
The Warriors' largest lead of the second half was also nine points, reached just after Northern nabbed a 39-38 advantage in the opening minutes. Winona State held the Wolves to a single field goal, a long range bomb from Ratzsch, in more than five minutes of play. Their 13-3 run set the score at 51-42 in favor of WSU. From there, the Wolves slowly edged their way back into the game, trading plenty of field goals and even more free throws. Their defense stopped the Warrior attack in the final minutes, but they were unable to close the game out for the win.
Ratzsch led NSU with 21 points in the game. Hamilton posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Nelson added 11 points and tied his career high of six rebounds. Wicks hit a trio of threes to end up with nine points. The Wolves shot 49.1% from the field and had a slight 33-32 rebounding edge, but committed too many fouls. They sent the Warriors to the line 25 times on the night.
Smith topped WSU's scoring with 19 and pulled down ten rebounds to complete the double-double. Jonte Flowers had 14 points and three assists, but was held to far less damage than he worked in the teams' first meeting of the season. David Johnson had 13 points, followed by Travis Whipple with 11 to round out Winona's scoring. The Warriors shot 43.6% from the field. They took care of the ball, turning it over just five times while forcing the Wolves into 11. The win marks the 40th consecutive NSIC victory for the Warriors, who are 92-8 in their last 100 games.
Northern faces Upper Iowa tomorrow evening.
