Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State University men's basketball team opened NSIC action on Saturday evening with a 70-54 victory over MSU Moorhead. The Wolves notched their second straight victory, improving to 5-2 on the year and 1-0 in the league.
Northern grabbed their first lead of the game at 13:39 in the first half and did not look back widening the gap as the clock clicked down in the first. They led 33-22 at the half and jumped out to a quick start in the second. The Dragons however chipped away and brought things within eight at the midway point. Despite the MSUM attack, Northern ran away with the game in the final five minutes, leading by as much as 19 with just 2:01 remaining.
The Wolves shot 38.5 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from the arc, and 76.5 percent from the foul line. They out-shot the Dragons in every category and notched seven made 3-pointers to MSUM's two. In addition, Northern grabbed 51 rebounds to the Dragons 34, and tallied 14 assists, two blocks, and two steals. They tallied 34 points in the paint, 29 points off the bench, 13 points off turnovers, and 13 second chance points.
Justin Decker led four in double figures with 15 points, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor. The senior nearly notched a double double with a team second best nine rebounds, adding one block and one assist.
Parker Fox was second on the team, and led the Wolves off the bench, with 14 points shooting 60.0 percent from the floor. He added two rebounds, one block, and one steal in the win.
Ian Smith grabbed his first double double of the season with a team high 14 rebounds, as well as 12 points. The senior also led the team with five assists.
Mason Stark rounded out the double figure scorers for the Wolves with 12 points, going 2-of-3 from the arc and 4-of-4 from the foul line. The freshman tallied five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Andrew Kallman also knocked down two from beyond the arc, with six points, one rebound, and one assist.
Bo Fries and
Gabe King added five and three points respectively, while
Cole Dahl tallied the final three team points for the Wolves. Fries and King each recorded seven rebounds, with Fries notching a team second best three assists as well.
Northern hits the road next weekend, traveling to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday versus the Beavers and Golden Eagles.
