Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – No current Northern State University player had ever won in Winona State University's McCown Gymnasium.  That all changed tonight.  NSU senior Mitch Boeck scored 25 points, including a pair of game-clenching free throws with 5.8 seconds left in the game, to lead the Wolves to a monster 69-66 win over the host Warriors Friday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball action.

The win – NSU's first in Winona since March 6, 2005 in the NSIC tournament championship game – moved the Wolves to 10-11 on the season and 6-8 in conference play.  It also avenged an earlier loss to the Warriors back on Jan. 2 and gives the Wolves their third straight road victory dating back to Jan. 15-16.

WSU, meanwhile, suffered their second straight home loss with Friday's setback, which also snapped a three-game win streak.  The Warriors slipped to 15-6 overall and 9-5 in NSIC action.

The Wolves started off the night scoring on each of their first four possessions of the game to open up a 9-3 lead out of the gates.  They would grow that edge to nine points by the midway point of the period before allowing the Warriors to put together a rally towards the end of the period to close to within two points at the break.

The second half was a true see-saw affair, as neither team was able to build more than a five point lead throughout.  After a Marko Filipovic layup forged the night's seventh tie at the 5:18 mark of the half, the Warriors' Joel Armstrong hit one of two free throws to give WSU its final lead of the game.

NSU responded with three straight Mitch Boeck buckets sandwiched around another 1-for-2 trip to the line from WSU's Clayton Vette.  The third Boeck score put the Wolves up 64-60 with 1:15 left to go, but WSU senior David Johnson cut the lead back to two with a pair of free throws at the 1:10 point.

The Wolves, however, took the ensuing possession and drew the Warrior defense out to the perimeter, allowing junior Derek Hoellein to find a wide-open Collin Pryor underneath for an easy lay-up, pushing the game back to a two-possession affair.

WSU's Ben Fischer promptly took the ball on a coast-to-coast drive, earning two trips to the free throw line with 30 seconds to go.  Fischer converted on both attempts, then promptly fouled NSU's Jordan King on the in-bounds pass to stop the clock at 29 seconds.

King hit one of two attempts at the other end of the court, allowing Fischer to cut the NSU lead to just one point on a driving lay-up with under ten seconds to go.  The Wolves then inbounded the ball to the senior Boeck, forcing the Warriors to foul one of the best free throw shooters in the country.

Boeck drained both of his attempts, then joined in a triple-team of Johnson at the other end, forcing his last-second three-point attempt to bounce wide right, leaving the Wolves with the hard-fought victory.

Boeck's game-high 25 points was just three shy of his career best.  It also marked his fifth straight game with 18 or more points.  Hoellein was 4-for-7 from long range and finished with 12 points.  Pryor added eight points and five rebounds, while sophomore Casey Becker picked up four points and a game-best six rebounds to lead the Wolves to a 31-19 edge on the boards.

King continued his string of solid games at the point, handing out eight assists to just one turnover.  The junior is averaging nearly nine assists a game in NSU's last three games.

The Warriors, meanwhile, got 15 points from Johnson and another 10 from Vette.  NSU, however, held WSU big men Vette and Joel Armstron to a combined three rebounds and the Warriors as a whole to just six second-chance points.

The Wolves look to continue their success on Saturday, taking on Upper Iowa in another key NSIC match-up.  Tip-off for that contest is set for 8 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa.