WOLVES DEFEAT WINONA WITH DEFENSE

Dec. 8, 2001

Attacking the Warriors -- Senior guard Roland Williams drives against WSU Saturday night during NSU's 30-8 game-opening run.

After scoring just 18 points in the first half, Winona State took a page out of Northern State's book by turning up the heat defensively in the second stanza. WSU's full-court pressure was effective, but it wasn't enough, as the Wolves never trailed in a 77-71 victory in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game Saturday night.

The Wolves (5-3, 2-0 NSIC) flustered Winona's offense and went into the locker rooms with a 38-18 lead at halftime. In the second half, Winona chipped away at the lead and even knotted the score at 71-71 with 1:23 remaining. NSU answered by making key defensive stops down the stretch and hitting its free-throws to ice the game.

The Wolves were led by senior post Andy Foster's (Caledonia, Minn.) 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. In all, five NSU players reached double-digits in scoring. Senior guard Drew Gruver (Scott City, Kan.) scored 16 for NSU. Junior forward Sundance Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.) pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go with six points and four assists. Fellow junior Nick Schroeder (Plymouth, Minn.) got the Wolves off to a quick start in the game by scoring four points in the first minute of action. He finished with 11 points. True freshman Jarod Obering (Beatrice, Neb.) scored a career-high 10 points including two clutch 3-pointers to stave off the Warriors' comeback. Senior post Brad Hansen, who played just 15 minutes due to foul trouble, ended with 10 points and six rebounds.

WSU (4-3, 1-1 NSIC) was led by Jason Linzmeier's 19 points. In all, 49 fouls were called in the game. NSU shot 37 free-throws (25-37), while Winona shot 30 (18-30).

The Wolves return to Wachs Arena Tuesday for a non-conference game against Sioux Falls College.