WOLVES CLAIM AT LEAST SHARE OF 2002 NSIC CHAMPIONSHIP WITH WIN AT MINNESOTA-MORRIS

Feb. 22, 2002

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship, or at least a share of it, was there for the taking Friday night for Northern State in the team's regular season finale at Minnesota-Morris.

The Wolves left little doubt, earning a convincing 94-66 win over the Cougars. The win clinched at least a share of the 2002 NSIC Regular Season Championship for NSU, its first since the 1998-99 season.

Just who the Wolves might share the title with is still up for grabs. Coming into Friday night, four teams sat atop the NSIC with four losses. One of those teams, Southwest State, was upset at Minnesota State-Moorhead. The other two, Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State, both earned big home wins. The Bulldogs and Beavers have another league game to play, however. UMD hosts Concordia-St. Paul Saturday night, while BSU entertains Winona State. A win by both would mean a three-way tie for the regular season championship. A loss by both would mean NSU wins the conference title outright. A win by one ... you get the idea.

The win and SSU loss also assured Northern (19-7 overall, 14-4 NSIC) a top three seed in the conference tournament to be played out next week. But Northern won't know exactly where it sits and which team it will host in first-round play next Wednesday until tomorrow's games have been played and league brass figures out the tricky tiebreaker scenario if need be.

Northern senior post Brad Hansen (Tea) led NSU's charge against UMM, scoring 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds. Junior sniper Nick Schroeder (Plymouth, Minn.) gave the team a nice inside-outside balance, chalking up 18 points including four 3-pointers. Senior forward Houston Reed (Olathe, Colo.) rounded out NSU's double-digit scorers with 12 points. Sophomore point guard Steve Smiley tied a career high with eight assists on the night.

UMM (3-23, 2-16 NSIC) was led by Adam Girtman's 17 points.

Here is a look at the NSIC standings entering the final night of conference play Saturday: