Aberdeen, S.D. – The Northern State men's basketball team (22-6, 17-4 NSIC) finished off the Minot State Beavers (10-18, 4-17 NSIC) by a score of 67-53 on Saturday night, becoming NSIC Champions for the third year in a row.
 
After putting themselves in position to win the conference last night, the Wolves capitalized with a decisive win over Minot State to take their third NSIC regular-season crown in as many years. The championship gives Northern all of the momentum as they start NSIC tournament play this Wednesday.
 
The game began with another good start for Parker Fox, picking up five of Northern's first seven points. The Beavers were able to keep pace however, using effective shooting to keep the score knotted up at 11 after five minutes.
 
As the half continued the lead changed hands multiple times, keeping either team from gaining a clear advantage. However, the Wolves' 3-point shooting, which had been absent for most of the half, came to life as Gabe King and Mason Stark rattled off six long balls in quick succession, propelling Northern to a 39-28 halftime lead
 
Despite Northern's lead, it was the Beavers who seemed to come out of the locker room with momentum, allowing them to quickly cut their disadvantage in half. But before things could get out of hand Gabe King once again came up clutch from beyond the arc, helping Northern extend their lead back into double digits.
 
Once the Wolves had built a comfortable margin, they didn't look back. With just over a minute remaining in regulation their advantage had grown to 17 points, at which point coach Phillips sent in his bench players to finish the job.
 
Northern shot 49.1% from the floor, 47.1% from beyond the arc and 70.0% from the free throw line. 30 of their points came from the paint, 13 off of turnovers and 10 from the bench players. The Wolves' defense held Minot to 41.7% from the floor and 36.4% from the 3-point line.
 
In the final regular season game of his illustrious NSU career, Gabe King led the team in scoring with 20 points. Mason Stark and Parker Fox were the only other players with double digits, scoring 16 and 11 points respectively.
 
Andrew Kallman was next on the scoreboard with eight points and five rebounds, closely followed by Jordan Belka who led the bench with six points. Rounding out the sheet were Tommy Chatman, Cole Dahl and Roko Dominovic, each notching two points.
 
With the regular season now concluded, the Wolves begin NSIC tournament competition this Wednesday against the SMSU Mustangs. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Wachs Arena on February 22.