Box Score
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite a game-high 25-effort from junior center
Robert Thomas (Mankato, Minn.) and another 23 points from senior
Kevin Ratzsch (Bloomington, Ill.), the Northern State University men's basketball squad dropped a tightly contested 74-78 decision to the host Concordia University-St. Paul Golden Bears Friday evening in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action.
The loss, NSU's second in the last three games, drops the Wolves to 13-4 overall and 6-4 in league play, while CU snaps a 6-game losing skid to improve to 7-10 on the year and an even 5-5 in the conference. The Golden Bears had lost five straight conference games heading into Friday's action.
The 16th-ranked Wolves held CU sharp-shooter Craig Heiman to just nine points, well below his season average of 18.0 points per game heading into the weekend, but had no answer for the dozen 3-pointers the Golden Bears put up as a team. Matt Caldwell came off the bench to drain six of those treys, all in the first half.
NSU, in contrast, had just three treys of their own in the game, and finished the night shooting just 23.1 percent (3-for-13) from long range on the night.
The Wolves claimed the statistical battle in nearly every other category, cleaning up 35 rebounds to CU's 26, including a 13-7 edge in offensive boards, and out-shooting the Golden Bears 50.8 percent to 47.2 percent from the floor.
NSU ultimately ran out of time to make a comeback bid. Down by just five with 2:15 left to play in the game, the Wolves forced a pair of turnovers and cut the lead to just three at 74-71 with just under a minute to play. Looking for a defensive stop and the ball back on the ensuing possession, NSU instead watched CU junior guard Sammy Ricks score two of his 19 points on the night to push the Golden Bears' lead back out to five points.
After a missed 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to play, the Wolves were forced to foul, sending Caldwell, the league's second-best free throw shooter, to the line for a pair, stretching the gap to seven points.
Ratzsch ended the game with his only 3-pointer of the night, but it was too little, too late for the Wolves.
Thomas finished out a strong all-around night just three points shy of a career-high after draining 11 of 16 attempts from the floor. The 6-foot-10 center started the game on a 10-for-10 tear before missing his first shot at the 11:59 mark of the second half. Thomas also had seven rebounds and three blocked shots on the night.
Ratzsch also turned in a strong second half, finishing the night with a career-high 14 rebounds to notch his third double-double of the season. The senior forward also dished out five assists and had a pair of steals.
CU had a trio of players in double figures, led by Caldwell's 22 points. Ricks added 19, while Mike Cunningham had 13.
Defensively, the Wolves held CU's other three starters to a combined 14 points on 5 of 14 shooting.
The Wolves continue their weekend road trip tomorrow night, taking on St. Cloud State in another key NSIC match-up. Tip-off for that game is set for 8 p.m.
