Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 18 Northern State University basketball team dropped their first game of the Dacotah Bank Thanksgiving Classic to 61-59 to Truman State. The Wolves drop to 3-2 overall this season.
 
Statistically the Wolves out-played the Bulldogs with a game high nine made 3-pointers, 36 rebounds, 16 assists, and two blocks. The out-shot TSU 40.9-to-34.8 from beyond the arc, while the Bulldogs were more efficient from the field shooting 44.2 percent to the Wolves 41.2 percent.
 
Northern recorded 22 points in the paint, 21 points off the bench, 11 second chance points, and ten points off turnovers. After scoring the first three points of the game, NSU grabbed the lead again with 4:28 left in regulation on a made 3-pointer by Andrew Kallman.  
 
The Wolves trailed by six at the half, and stormed back in the second, however were unable to make things happen going scoreless in the final three minutes of play. Ian Smith made it a 1-point lead for NSU with 3:46 left to play, however Truman's Turner Scott went 1-for-2 from the free throw line and tied things at 59-all with 1:51 left on the clock. The two teams traded defensive stops through the next minute of play, with the Bulldogs hitting what became the game winning basket with 13 seconds left.
 
Justin Decker and Bo Fries led the team with 13 and 11 points respectively, shooting a combined 61.5 percent from the floor. Fries led the team and the game going a perfect 3-for-3 from the 3-point line. Decker, alongside Ian Smith led the team with seven rebounds apiece. Smith also added a team leading five assists, as well as six points and one steal.
 
Parker Fox led the team off the bench with eight points of his own, while Gabe King and Andrew Kallman rounded out the starting five with five and three points respectively. Mason Stark and Cole Dahl each recorded five points off the bench, with one made from beyond the arc. Jordan Belka tallied the final three points for the Wolves going 1-for-1 from the 3-point line.
 
King tallied six rebounds of his own, followed by Fox with five and Dahl with four. Both Fries and Kallman recorded a team second best four assists, while Fox led the team with two steals. Decker and Fries notched the two blocks for the Wolves.
 
Northern returns to Don Meyer court tomorrow evening for a 6 p.m. tip against Chadron State.