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ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State junior Dustin Tetzlaff turned in a very quiet 17-point, 9-rebound performance – both game highs – but NSU's 70-55 win over Bemidji State on Saturday night was anything but silent.  The Wolves shot the ball at a 53.3 percent clip, while holding Bemidji State to just 33.3 percent and the NSIC's leading scorer James Ellisor to just 12 points, the fewest by any team in the conference to date.
 
NSU moves to 12-7 overall and 8-7 in the league with back-to-back home wins to close out the month of January.  With seven games remaining in the regular season – five of which are on the road – the Wolves are still firmly in the hunt for an NSIC playoff bid, sitting in eighth in the standings.  BSU finishes with a weekend split and now stands at 15-6 overall and 10-5 in the loop.  However, Friday's win combined a loss by MSU Moorhead on Saturday, moved the Beavers up to third in the standings.
 
The win capped a 74-point turnaround weekend from the last time the Wolves faced this weekend's contests, starting with Friday night's victory over Minnesota-Duluth.  NSU fell by 11 to UMD and 29 to the Beavers in a Dec. 16-17 road swing, but downed the Bulldogs by 19 last night and Bemidji State by 15 on Saturday.
 
BSU took a quick lead just three seconds into the contest when Lance Rongstad scooped up the tip and drove to the basket, where he drew the first of 18 NSU fouls on the night.  Rongstand, however, went just 1-for-2 from the line in a foreshadowing of what proved to be a cold shooting night from anywhere on the court for the Beavers.
 
The Wolves countered with a second-effort bucket from Tetzlaff at the other end and never looked back.  By the 10:46 mark of the first half, the Wolves had built up a 16-point lead.  NSU also weathered a nearly five-minute scoring drought with solid defensive stands, allowing the Beavers just seven points in that stretch.
 
BSU cut the deficit to six with 3:21 left, but a quick 5-0 run spearheaded by Jared Hannigan and Alex Thomas made it a double-digit lead once again.
 
The Beavers again cut the Wolves' advantage to six in the early going of the second half, but a trio of Thomas treys spurred an 11-2 run that put NSU back on solid footing at 50-35.  The Wolves kept the lead in the double-digit range for all but a brief moment the remainder of the way.
 
Of the eight players to see the court for the Wolves, seven scored, and all seven tallied six or more points in the book.  Thomas finished with 13, while Geoffrey Firmin and Jared Hannigan scored nine apiece.  Mitch White was 2-for-2 from long range, including a 35-footer, to finish with eight points off the bench.  Trent Zomer also had eight points, three assists, three blocks and two steals in reserve.
 
Bemidji State threw a roster of 12 players at the Wolves, putting three in double digits, led by Ellisor's dozen.  Dermain Cockrell had 10 points, all in the first half, while Jake Schalow added 11 off the bench.
 
After spending all but one weekend of January playing on their home court, the Wolves are now on the road for two straight weekends, beginning with a swing through MSU Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (6 p.m.), respectively.