Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State University junior Derek Hoellein drained his second 3-pointer of the night with just over a minute left to play in the game, knocking down a trey despite having the St. Cloud State University defense waving its hands in his face to force the tenth tie of the night and set up a dramatic finish to Saturday night's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball game.

The problem for the host Wolves, however, was that SCSU junior Taylor Witt hit an equally big pull-up jumper at the other end of the floor to put the conference's third-ranked team up by two and leaving the Wolves with one possession and 41 seconds to change the tide.  SCSU, however, put the clamps down on defense, forcing the Wolves into an off-balance attempt and gathering up the ensuing rebound to preserve a hard-fought 66-64 win.

The decision snaps a 3-game win streak for the Wolves, now 8-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play.  SCSU, which had lost two straight heading into the night but still ranked third in the conference, moved to 14-4 overall and 8-3 in league action.

NSU senior Mitch Boeck led all scorers with 20 points, but fouled out of what proved to be a physical contest with 3:37 left to go.  Boeck, who scored 25 points in Friday night's win over Concordia-St. Paul, went 8-for-8 from the free throw line on Saturday and finished with three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.  Redshirt freshman Collin Pryor added 16 points, while true freshman Marko Filipovic chipped in 10 points and a big late-game steal off the bench.

SCSU used an 8-for-11 performance from the line in the first half coupled with just three turnovers in the period to build a 7-point cushion by the halftime intermission.  The Wolves, however, erased that deficit in the first minute of the second half, setting up a back-and-forth stanza that ultimately came down to the final possession of the game.

SCSU center Matt Schneck posted 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Huskies, while Witt added 12 points and six assists.  Andrew Bernstetter came off the bench for nine points and three blocked shots, two of which came in the second half as the Huskies held NSU to just 7 of 24 shooting from the floor in the period.

The Wolves remain at home next weekend, taking on MSU Moorhead on Friday and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday in another pair of key NSIC contests.  Tip-off for both games is set for 8 p.m. in NSU's Wachs Arena.