Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State University held one of the conference's top three-point shooting teams to just four treys on 19 attempts and six second-chance points but couldn't overcome a 33.3 percent overall shooting effort of their own, dropping a 68-65 thriller to the visiting University of Mary Marauders Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball action.

The loss drops the Wolves to 7-10 overall and 3-10 in league play, while the Marauders picked up their sixth straight victory and now sit in a second-place log-jam with three other teams in the conference standings with their 9-4 NSIC mark.  U-Mary is 13-4 overall.

NSU, for the second consecutive game, found itself down by double digits early in the second half before mounting a relentless come-from-behind effort.  The Wolves scored nine straight points over a three-minute span to cut what was a 12-point Marauder lead to just three with 13:53 to go.  NSU freshman Jared Hannigan capped the run with one of his three treys on the night.  Hannigan, who struggled from long range through the first half of the season, was 3-for-5 from long range on Saturday and finished with a career and season-best 11 points.

U-Mary quickly stretched it back to a seven-point advantage, but could not shake a persistent NSU team that forced the Marauders into seven second-half turnovers and held them to 8 of 24 shooting in the final 20 minutes.

The Wolves rallied again late in the half and took their first lead of the night on another Hannigan trey that made it 61-60 NSU with 2:43 to go.  That lead was short-lived, however, as U-Mary's Anthony Moody countered with a jumper and set off a back-and-forth battle that continued through the final buzzer.

U-Mary missed four of six free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game, giving the Wolves three opportunities at game-tying baskets.  On two of those possessions, the Wolves drove the lane and got off a pair of off-balance, contested shots, but couldn't get the roll from the home rims.

NSU also had a hail-mary opportunity at the buzzer after U-Mary's Eric Erdmann hit one of two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to make it a three-point game.  After each team called a time-out, the Wolves inbounded the ball to near midcourt.  NSU's Collin Pryor took the pass and passed it off to senior Tom Parks as he was falling out of bounds.  Parks' desperation shot from half court fell short of the rim, leaving the Marauders with the slim escape.

Sophomore forward Dustin Tetzlaff finished with 15 points and a career-best 16 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.  Parks and Hannigan each added 11 on a combined 6-for-14 effort from long range.

Erdmann turned in a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double of his own to lead the Marauders.  The senior forward was 8 of 16 from the floor, including several finger-roll buckets, and contributed a large portion of U-Mary's 30 points in the paint.  Moody finished with 19 points, nine boards and an uncharacteristic six turnovers.

The Wolves return to the road next weekend for a pair of re-matches at Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State.  Game time is set for 8 p.m. both nights.