Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State University basketball fans have a history of turning out in droves, particularly for big games.  They did not disappoint on Saturday, as more than 6,500 fans turned out to watch NSU head coach Don Meyer tally his record-setting 903rd career win, an 82-62 victory over the University of Mary, which put him atop the men's all-time NCAA career wins chart.

With the historic win, the Wolves moved to 12-2 overall and 5-2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while the visiting Marauders fell to 3-10 and 1-6 in the league.

The Wolves used four players in double figures and a 56.9 percent shooting effort from the floor to claim the win, pulling away from the Marauders in the late going.  Senior Kevin Ratzsch (Bloomington, Ill.) led all players with 22 points, eight boards and three blocked shots.   Junior Robert Thomas (Mankato, Minn.) added 20 points to provide a solid inside presence for the Wolves.  Wingman Mitch Boeck (Arlington, S.D.) chipped in 14 points, while sophomore point guard Brett Newton (Tyler, Minn.) added 10 points off the bench of 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line.

Sophomore Jordan King (Arlington, S.D.) also came off the bench to dish out a career-high seven assists.

After a nip-and-tuck start to the game, NSU outscored the Marauders 12-7 over the final 4:55 of the first half to take a 40-28 lead into the break.  Mary immediately cut the lead to single digits to start the second half, however, as Jordan Wilhelm drained a 3-pointer just 15 seconds into the period to make it a 9-point game.

Undeterred, the Wolves quickly build the lead back up to 19 points before holding the Marauders scoreless for nearly three and a half minutes before UMary's Mark Bakkum reeled off four straight buckets for the Marauders.

The Wolves, however, would stave off the attack, pulling away in the final minutes of the game.

The Marauders got 14 points from senior Geoff West and another 13 from Bakkum, but were unable to overcome a 37.0 percent shooting effort from the floor.

NSU is back in action next weekend, as they host Bemidji State and Minnesota-Duluth on Friday and Saturday, respectively.  The match-ups are rematches of the non-conference meetings between the teams during the NSIC Holiday HoopsFest on Nov. 29-30.