Jan. 7, 2000

With a five-point lead and six minutes remaining in the game, it looked as if Northern State (5-8 overall, 2-3 NSIC) might win its third straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game and begin rolling again with what would have been a big road win at Minnesota-Duluth.

But then the wheels fell off. NSU failed to score in the final six minutes of the game, allowing Duluth to come back and post an 82-74 win Friday night. The late lid on the basket dropped NSU's shooting percentage for the second half to 32 percent after the Wolves shot 49 percent in the first half and continued to produce points early in the second half.

Junior guard Jared Miller (Mitchell) led a sharp offensive effort early, scoring all but three of his game-high 21 points in the first half as well as creating easy looks for teammates. Miller ended with a game-high six assists. Freshman forward Sundance Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.) and sophomore post Brad Hansen (Tea) each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for NSU.

Defensively, NSU shut down the NSIC's reigning offensive MVP in Josh Quigley, holding the lanky post to just eight points. But UMD (5-10, 2-2) made up for it with great balance. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Chris Stanley's 19 points. Most of Stanley's offensive output came on big shots in the second half.