Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – For the fourth straight game and just hours after being named as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Week, Northern State University senior Kevin Ratzsch (Bloomington, Ill.) scored a game-high 21 points to lead three players in double figures for the Wolves, who improved to 4-0 on the year with an 83-47 victory over Jamestown College.
    The win capped a busy opening stretch for the Wolves, who took the court for their fourth game in a week.  With the win, Head Coach Don Meyer moves to 895 career victories and now needs just seven more to tie Bobby Knight for the record for most wins by a men's coach at the NCAA level.
    Ratzsch, a 6-foot-7 forward, also had eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots to lead a balanced Wolves' attack against the now 5-3 Jimmies.  Sophomore Robert Thomas (Mankato, Minn.) had 14 points and five rebounds despite running into foul trouble and playing just 14 minutes of the game.
    Junior Mitch Boeck (Arlington, S.D.) and sophomore Derek Hoellein (Eureka, S.D.) combined to hit five on NSU's eight 3-pointers on the night as NSU put together an inside-outside game to keep the Jimmies off balance.  Boeck finished the night with 10 points, while Hoellein had nine.
    The Wolves opened the game with a 7-0 run and never looked back, expanding their lead to as many as 22 in the first half before heading into the break up by 17 at 41-24.  That would be as close as the Jimmies would get in the second half, as well, as the Wolves held Jamestown to a paltry 25.0 percent shooting effort in the second period and won going away.
    The lopsided victory is in stark contrast to last year's meeting between these two teams.  The Wolves found themselves down by 25 at halftime and needed overtime to secure the 82-77 comeback victory
    The Jimmies were led tonight by Jacob Kelsey with 13 points.  Tanner Farkas also added 12 points off the bench.
    NSU will be back in action on Saturday as part of the NSIC Hoopsfest in Sioux Falls.  The Wolves will take on Minnesota-Duluth a 2 p.m. in Sioux Falls Arena, followed by a 2 p.m. match-up against Bemidji State on Sunday in a pair of non-conference contests.