Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State University men's basketball team will remain on the road this weekend, traveling to Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. Start times are set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday versus the Golden Bears and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday against the Mavericks.
Quick Hits on the Wolves
• The Northern State men's basketball team returns to cross divisional play this weekend, currently sitting atop both the NSIC overall and North Division standings.
• The Wolves are shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, 41.3 percent from the arc, and 73.3 percent from the foul line this season; averaging 78.1 points, 37.5 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 10.9 turnovers, 3.7 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game.
• NSU leads the Northern Sun in scoring defense, scoring margin, and assists per game thus far.
• They are sit top-20 in the nation in rebounding margin and 3-point field goal percentage.
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Ian Smith leads four Wolves averaging double figures, notching 13.9 points per game, with a team high 109 assists and 15 steals.
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Parker Fox is second on the team and leads the Wolves off the bench, notching 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The redshirt freshman is also shooting a team high 56.6 percent from the floor with 25 blocks this season.
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Justin Decker and
Bo Fries round out the Wolves in double figures, recording 10.6 and 10.0 points per game respectively. Fries is also pulling down a team high 6.0 rebounds per game.
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Andrew Kallman leads the team from the 3-point line with 36 made buckets and a 45.6 field goal percentage from beyond the arc.
About Concordia-St. Paul
• Concordia enters the weekend with an 8-12 record overall and 3-11 mark in the NSIC.
• CSP's three conference victories are against UMary (66-61), Southwest Minnesota State (76-70), and St. Cloud State (107-91)
• The Golden Bears are shooting 46.9 percent from the floor, 36.0 percent from the 3-point line, and 73.0 percent from the free throw line.
• They are averaging 78.7 points, 35.9 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 12.5 turnovers, 4.4 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game this season.
• Isaiah Mckay and Bryndan Matthews lead CSP averaging 19.3 and 18.7 points per game respectively.
• Matthews also leads the team averaging 8.5 rebounds per game, with 85 assists and a 60.5 field goal percentage.
• McKay is the team leader from beyond the arc with 49 made 3-pointers, followed by Hayden Baughman with 41 and a 44.1 3-point field goal percentage.
• The Golden Bears are led by head coach Joey James in his fifth season at the helm.
Last Match-Up
• The Wolves swept the Golden Bears in 2017-18, winning 84-71 in the regular season and 80-52 in the NSIC Tournament.
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Ian Smith led the returners in the regular season victory with 14 points and ten rebounds, while five Wolves scored in double figures in the tournament win.
• Northern is 29-7 all-time versus the Golden Bears and 8-2 under the direction of
Paul Sather.
About Minnesota State
• The Mavericks enter the weekend second in the NSIC South Division with a 10-4 conference record and 14-6 overall mark.
• MSU is shooting 45.8 percent from the floor, 37.2 percent from the 3-point line, and 71.5 percent from the foul line; averaging 83.0 points, 38.8 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 9.5 turnovers, 4.5 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game this season.
• They sit atop the NSIC in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 32.1 percent.
• Cameron Kirksey leads four averaging over 12 points per game with 16.9 and a team high 52.1 field goal percentage.
• Kevin Krieger is pulling down a team leading 8.1 rebounds per game, while averaging 13.9 points and shooting 48.6 percent from the floor.
• Carter Asche and Juwan McCloud lead the team with 29 and 28 3-pointers made respectively.
• Minnesota State is led by head coach Matt Margenthaler in his 18th season at the helm.
Last Match-Up
• Northern defeated Minnesota State in all three contests a season ago with game scores of 87-84, 79-78, and 90-83.
• Most notably the Wolves defeated the Mavericks in the Central Region Championship, advancing to just the second NCAA Elite 8 in program history.
