Sioux Falls, S.D. – The Northern State University men's basketball team opened the East-West Challenge with a band, defeating Black Hills State 82-50 from the Sanford Pentagon. The Wolves improve to 2-1 on the year.
 
The Wolves took a roaring 45-26 lead in the first half, and continued to tack things on in the second. They held their largest lead of the game, 32-points, with 9:10 left in regulation. Northern shot efficiently in the win, at a 50.8 percent clip from the floor and 61.1 percent clip from the 3-point line. The Wolves tallied a game high 38 rebounds, 19 assists, and five blocks, while adding three steals. They recorded 37 points off the bench, 34 points in the paint, 23 points off turnovers, 13 second chance points, and six fast break scores.
 
Ian Smith and Parker Fox led the team with 13 points apiece, shooting a combined 43.5 percent from the floor. Smith tallied a team leading five assists, while adding one rebound and one steal. Fox led the team with eight rebounds, and a career high five blocks. He also recorded two assists.
 
Justin Decker was the final Wolf in double figures, notching ten points and shooting 51.7 percent from the floor. The senior added four rebounds and went 2-for-2 from the foul line. Andrew Kallman, Mason Stark, and Cole Dahl each tallied eight points, with two made 3-pointers apiece.
 
Bo Fries and Gabe King rounded out the starting five for the Wolves with seven points each, shooting 60.0 and 75.0 percent from the floor respectively. Fries tallied four rebounds and one assist, while King notched two assists and one steal.
 
Jordan Belka and Ethan Kranhold each tallied three points off the bench, while Roko Dominovic tallied the final three. Dominovic recorded two assists, alongside Kallman, King, and Fox, and Belka notched three rebounds, alongside King.
 
Northern will face South Dakota School of Mines tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. from the Pentagon, in their final game from the East-West Challenge.