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The Northern State defense was on lockdown Friday night as the Wolves defeated Minnesota, Crookston 72-49 to open their four-game road trip. The 49 points allowed are a season-low for Northern.

NSU (13-4, 8-3 NSIC) held the Golden Eagles (4-11, 1-10 NSIC) to 32.1 percent shooting from the floor (18-for-56) and just 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from three-point range. Both marks are season-lows by an opponent against the Wolves this year.

Seth Bachand led the Wolves with a game-high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting on the night. Bachand also pulled down seven rebounds and had two blocks and a steal in the win. Tydan Storrusten and Skye Warwick each added 10 points while Jared Hannigan chipped in seven. Trent Zomer scored nine points, had two blocks and a steal as well against UMC. 10 of 11 players that played Friday for NSU scored on the night.

The Wolves shot 47.7 percent from the field (21-for-44) and made 26 free throws in the win. Northern doubled-up UMC in paint points, 28-14 and also held a 14-8 edge in points off of turnovers. NSU had a big advantage on the boards Friday out-rebounding the Golden Eagles 40-28. Northern had 16 second-chance points and 11 offensive rebounds.

Northern got off to a bit of a sluggish start in the first half, shooting 41 percent in the half and led 28-24 going into the break. The Wolves outscored UMC in the second half 44-25.

NSU opened the second stanza with an 11-2 run and led 39-26 with 16:29 remaining. The Wolves led by double-digits for much of the second half as UMC would get as close as eight points the rest of the way. Northern allowed just five points the final 10:03 of the game, closing on a 20-5 run.

The win sets up a huge game tomorrow night between the Wolves and Bemidji State as both teams are tied atop the North Division standings at 8-3. Saturday's contest tips at 8 p.m. in Bemidji, Minn.