Sioux Falls, S.D. – Mack Arvidson came in clutch for the Northern State University men's basketball team, hitting the game winning buzzer beater to defeat Sioux Falls 86-84 on the road. The Wolves tallied 63 points in the second half to secure the victory and improve to 15-6 overall and 11-4 in league action.
Northern struggled in the first half, scoring just 23 points and shooting 31.8 percent from the floor. The Wolves trailed by 12 points at the half, however came out with a new fire in the second shooting 67.7 percent from the floor and 69.2 percent from the arc with nine made 3-point field goals. Defensively the Wolves held the Cougars to 49 points and a 46.0 field goal percentage in the final 30 minutes of action.
Sioux Falls led by as many as 18 points with 15 minutes remaining in the game, however the Wolves went on a 32-13 run, tying things at 63-all with 6:43 on the board. Sioux Falls held on to the lead however with the Wolves taking their first lead of the second half on back-to-back Arvidson treys with just 25 seconds remaining.
Ian Smith led the team with 20 points, followed by
DJ Pollard and
Mack Arvidson with 18 each. Arvidson led the team with four made 3-pointers and a 62.5 field goal percentage.
Logan Doyle was the final Wolf in double figures with 17 points and a team leading 11 rebounds notching his sixth double-double of the season.
Bo Fries led the Wolves off the bench with eight points, followed by
Gabe King and
Carter Evans with three and two points respectively. Pollard notched a team second best six rebounds, while Fries tallied five of his own. Smith led the team with three assists, followed closely by Pollard, Doyle, and Fries with two apiece. Doyle nearly matched his career high from a weekend ago, blocking four Cougar shots.
As a unit the Wolves tallied 30 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers, 14 second chance points, and ten points off the bench. Northern also out-rebounded Sioux Falls 33-30 in the win including 25 defensive boards.
The Northern State men will return to action tomorrow with a 7 p.m. match-up at Southwest Minnesota State.
