Box Score
ABERDEEN, S.D. – It took the better part of the night, but the Northern State University Wolves finally hit their stride in the last eight minutes of the game to put the finishing touches on a 93-74 victory over Jamestown College in the Wolves' 2009-10 season opener Tuesday night in NSU's Wachs Arena.
The Wolves, who struggled to shoot 40 percent in the first half of the contest, drained five of six field goals (88.3 percent) in the final five minutes, including two of three from beyond the arc to salvage a 51.7 percent night overall. NSU was also 9-for-12 from the floor in the final eight minutes, committing just three turnovers in that span.
What started out as a run-and-gun track meet turned into a free throw shooting contest. The teams combined to commit 57 fouls and shoot 66 free throws, as more than a quarter of the points on the evening came at the free throw line.
The Wolves, now 1-0 on the season, had five players in double figures, led by junior guard
Derek Hoellein, who hit a trio of 3-pointers and was five of 8 from the floor overall. Senior
Mitch Boeck also nailed three treys on the night and finished with 12 points.
Sophomore
Casey Becker chimed in with 11 points, as did newcomers
Momcilo Latinovic and
Collin Pryor. Latinovic took all three NSU 3-point attempts in the final stretch, draining back-to-back attempts from the left corner with under three minutes to play to put the Wolves up by 20.
NSU also dominated the inside game, edging the Jimmies 38-24 in points in the paint.
Although they never led, the Jimmies took advantage of NSU's slow start to keep things close in the first half. The Wolves stretched out a 13-point lead on Hoellein's second trey of the game with just under four minutes to play in the stanza before Jamestown took off on a 11-0 tear to close to within two at 40-38. The Jimmies went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in that span with a Hans Hoeg 3-pointer thrown in for good measure.
NSU's
Jordan King made it a three-point affair, hitting one of two free throws at the 1:33 mark before a wide-open
Casey Becker drained a trey to give the Wolves the 6-point cushion heading into the break.
The Wolves quickly stretched their lead back out to double digits to open the second half and maintained a steady 12- to 14-point edge through the middle portion of the stanza before opening up in the waning minutes of the game.
The Jimmies remain at 3-2 on the season, as Tuesday's contest was counted as an exhibition match-up on their 2009-10 slate.
NSU will have little time to dwell on the victory as they are back in action on Wednesday night, taking on Mount Marty College in another non-conference contest. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Wachs Arena.
