Chadron, Neb. – The Northern State University men's basketball team notched their second victory of the season, defeating Chadron State 94-74 on the road. Northern improves to 2-2 overall while Chadron falls to 0-2 on the season.
The Wolves led a majority of the game, with their largest lead of 22 points with just 38 seconds remaining in the game. Northern shot 61.8 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the arc, notching their second straight game shooting over 60 percent. The Wolves also shot 64.0 percent from the foul line, tallying 16 total points.
Defensively the Wolves held the Eagles to a 48.1 field goal percentage and forced 15 turnovers resulting in 17 points. Northern also notched seven offensive boards for 13 second chance points as the Wolves out-rebounded Chadron 33-26.
Justin Decker led the team with a career high 23 points. He made 8-of-13 from field goal range, and 4-of-5 from the arc to lead the Wolves.
DJ Pollard notched a team second best 22 points shooting 8-of-12 from the floor. Also notching double-digits were
Ian Smith with 13, and
Mack Arvidson and
Gabe King with 11 each. King's 11 points notched a career high for the freshman as well.
Logan Doyle and
Carter Evans rounded out the team total with nine and five points respectively.
Doyle led the Wolves on the board with 11, followed by Pollard with eight. Pollard also notched a season high five assists to lead the team, followed by Doyle with four of his own. Smith and Decker notched the team's final assists with three and two respectively. Doyle continued his solid outing with a team leading two blocks, while Arvidson notched a team leading two steals.
Northern tallied 36 points in the paint and 20 points off the bench in the win, as they shot a season high from the 2-point line. The Wolves also tallied four fast-break points and held the Eagles to just 22 points in the paint.
Northern will return to action tomorrow versus Black Hills State University on the road. The Wolves and Yellow Jackets will tip-off at 7 p.m. from Spearfish.
