Box Score
ABERDEEN, S.D. – After starting off the season 1-4 overall and 0-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, the St. Cloud State University Huskies – a 2009-10 national tournament semifinalist contender – finally put together a well-rounded game at the expense of the host Northern State University Wolves Saturday night. The Huskies used a trio of 20-point efforts to overcome a 31-point performance from junior point guard
David Lane and claim a hard-fought 91-83 win over the Wolves.
NSU entered the night with a perfect 5-0 mark, but faltered for the first time this season and now stand at 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league play. SCSU moved to 2-4 on the season and a similar 1-1 conference mark.
Both teams came into Saturday's match-up fresh off overtime contests on Friday. The Wolves knocked off Concordia-St. Paul 96-94 in extra minutes, while the Huskies suffered an 84-81 setback at the University of Mary.
Neither team made it easy on the other on Saturday, battling through seven ties and nine lead changes throughout the night. Neither squad even managed a double-digit lead as they traded buckets, free throws, points and rebounds all night long.
Lane made his mark off the drive, going 10 of 15 from the floor and 10 of 13 from the free throw line. Sophomore forward
Collin Pryor joined him at the free throw stripe, earning nine trips and converting on eight of them to finish with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Dustin Tetzlaff added 12 points, three blocked shots and another eight boards off the bench.
SCSU's three-headed trio of Brett Putz, Taylor Witt and Andrew Bernstetter combined for 62 points, 10 of the team's 15 assists, and 18 rebounds on the night. The three also helped clinch the game down the stretch for the Huskies, going a combined 9 of 10 from the free throw line in the final minute to keep the Wolves at bay.
Bernstetter also had three blocked shots in the second half to help hold NSU to just a 30.8 percent effort from the floor in that stanza. Senior reserve forward Jesse Fisher added 18 points off the bench for SCSU and was a key part of an 8-0 Huskies run to open the second half of play.
As a team, the Wolves committed a season-low seven turnovers, and just two in the second half. NSU, however, could not overcome its second-half shooting woes in time for the final buzzer.
The Wolves take to the road for the first time this season when they travel to Wayne State and Augustana on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both teams stumbled to 0-2 starts to the conference slate this weekend. Friday's contest is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. while Saturday's game will start at 6 p.m.
