St. Joseph, Mo. – In the 2017-18 season opener, the Northern State University men's basketball team defeated Washburn University 69-57 in regional action. The Wolves handed the Ichabods their first loss of the season, and improved to 1-0 in the process.
 
Despite a hot start by the Ichabods in the first half, The Wolves battled back to take the lead and hold it through the remainder of the game, leading by as much as 22 points midway through the second half. Northern tallied 36 points in the first and 33 in the second, shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from the arc. Washburn sent Northern to the foul line 21 times in the game, with the Wolves knocking down 18 points, shooting at an 85.7 clip from the foul line.
 
NSU tallied 34 points in the paint, 17 points off the bench and 12 points off ten offensive boards. They forced 22 turnovers which results in 21 points in the game. The Ichabods edged out the Wolves on the boards with 35 rebounds, to Northern's 33.
 
Darin Peterka led four Wolves in double figures with 12 points in the win, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor. The senior added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Ian Smith was second on the team with 11 points, knocking down a team leading seven free throws. DJ Pollard and Logan Doyle each tallied ten points, and led the team with eight and six rebounds respectively. Doyle shot a team leading 71.4 percent from the floor, while adding two blocks and two steals.
 
Justin Decker rounded out the starters with nine points, three rebounds, and two steals. Carter Evans led the team off the bench with eight points and five rebounds. Bo Fries, Gabe King, and Andrew Kallman each added three points to the team total, while King recorded four rebounds and one steal for the Wolves.
 
Northern will be back in action tomorrow from St. Joe with a 12 p.m. match-up against the defending national champs the No. 1 Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State.