Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – If Thursday night's game was being scored solely by points in the paint, Northern State won.  If the game was won or lost on points off turnovers, Northern State won.  Second chance points?  Fast Break?  Bench points?  Northern State won them all, dominating nearly every statistical category while running away with a 98-52 win over the visiting Mayville State Comets in non-conference men's basketball action.
    After a relatively slow start in the first half, the Wolves, who improved to 2-0 on the young season, used a 6-0 run to pull away from a 16-16 tie at the 10:22 mark of the first period.
    NSU quickly built up a double-digit lead on a 3-point bucket by senior Kevin Ratzsch (Bloomington, Ill.), then used an 11-4 run over the last five minutes of the half to carve out a 44-28 advantage at the break.
    And as relatively close as the first half turned out to be, the second half belonged entirely to the Wolves.  NSU opened the period with nine straight points while holding the Comets to just two field goals in the first seven minutes of play. 
Northern's opening run included three Mayville State turnovers and a pair of coast-to-coast layups from senior point guard Kyle Schwan (Aberdeen, S.D.).  Ratzsch also added a trio of baskets en-route to his game-high 19-points.
    Sophomore forward Bojan Todorovic (Pozarevac, Serbia) was a key component of NSU's inside game, putting up 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds off the bench.  Both marks are career-bests for the 6-foot-9 power forward.  He also added three blocked shots as the Wolves dominated the inside, putting up 52 points in the paint to Mayville State's 24.
    Schwan and sophomore Marty Gregor (Chaska, Minn.) also found double figures in scoring, chipping in 12 points apiece, while sophomore Brett Newton (Tyler, Minn.) doled out a career-high-tying seven assists.
    Anton Coleman and Dave Johnson had 14 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the way for the Comets, who shot just 32.2 percent (19 of 59) from the field and 21.7 percent (5 of 23) from 3-point range.
    The Wolves will have little time to celebrate the victory as they are back in action tomorrow night, taking on Presentation College in an 8 p.m. match-up of cross-town teams.  NSU's women's team will make its home debut at 6 p.m., also against the Saints of PC.