Box Score
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ABERDEEN, S.D. – This time, both youth and revenge are served.
 
Northern State freshman Michael Emge came off the bench to hit four treys and a dunk en-route to a career-high 20 points and propel the Wolves to a big 93-74 win over the visiting Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Friday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference basketball action.
 
The win avenges an earlier 82-93 loss to the Bulldogs on Dec. 17 in Duluth and moves the Wolves to 11-7 overall and an even 7-7 in the conference.  UMD slips to a similar 11-7 mark overall, having lost its second straight, but is holding on to an 8-6 record in the loop.
 
Emge's career night led four players in double figures for the Wolves, who held up under a physical game that featured 49 personal fouls and a combined 64 free throw attempts despite the continued absence of junior Collin Pryor.
 
Junior Geoffrey Firmin was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line and finished with 15 points.  Dustin Tetzlaff was just 6 of 13 at the line, but still tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year.  Jared Hannigan was 3-for-5 from long range to finish with 11.
 
Starters Alex Thomas – the lone senior of the team – added nine points, four assists and two steals, while freshman Seth Bachand put up eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and a steal in 22 minutes in a starting role.
 
All told, all but one NSU player to see the floor finished with points on the board.  The Wolves also committed a season-low seven turnovers on the night, while holding one of the league's top three-point shooting teams to just 27.8 percent from long range.
 
NSU dominated in nearly every statistical category, save for free throw shooting.  The Wolves scored 44 points in the paint, 20 off turnovers, 19 on second effort shots and 36 off the bench.  The Bulldogs, in contrast, scored just 18 in the paint, nine off turnovers, seven on second possessions and 18 off the bench.
 
The Wolves frustrated the Bulldogs early and often in the first half and built up as much as a 21 point lead with 2:48 left in the half before UMD closed the half on a 14-0 run.  Jake Hottenstine sparked the rally with a high-flying dunk and added a trey and a three-point play in the final minute and a half.  Reece Zoelle and Ryan Rasmussen tossed in a trey apiece, whittling what was a 41-20 NSU lead into a 41-34 affair at intermission.
 
The Wolves quickly built the lead back up to double digits with a quick 6-0 run to start the second half.  UMD made one final push to again cut it to seven with 15:59 left, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get.  A 10-2 NSU run midway through the half pushed the NSU lead to 18, as the Wolves tallied the win going away.
 
Other than Rasmussen's 21 points and 3-for-6 effort from downtown, the Bulldog offense was relatively quiet.  Rasmussen scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, but it was a case of too little, too late.
 
Hottenstine and Zoelle finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs.  Center Brett Ervin tallied seven points before fouling out of the contest.
 
The Wolves will be back on the floor on Saturday to host Bemidji State in another key NSIC match-up.  The Beavers were 72-65 winners over U-Mary on Friday night and handed the Wolves an 88-59 loss back on Dec. 16.  Tip-off for the rematch is set for 8 p.m. in Wachs Arena.