Men's Basketball

Dec. 8th, 2006 -Aberdeen, S.D.	1st	2nd	Final	Records
Wayne State	28	38	66	5-3, 2-1 NSIC
Northern State University	42	40	82	6-3, 2-1 NSIC

 

Wolves Win Conference Home Opener 82-66 over the Wildcats

December 8, 2006
ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State used career highs from a couple of freshman, Mitch Boeck who had 12 points and Robert Thomas who had 10 points, to defeat the Wildcats in their first conference home game 82-66 in Aberdeen, S.D. With the win, the Wolves improve their record to 6-3, 2-1 NSIC while the Wildcats fall to 5-3, 2-1 NSIC with the loss.

In the first half Northern State shot 70.8% (17/24) from the field and 58.3% (7/12) from beyond the arc to take a 42-28 halftime lead. Midway through the first half, the Wolves used a 15-4 run to push their lead to 13 at 29-16 with 9:33 left.

The Wolves got three's from five different people in the half to help them diffuse any Wildcat attempts at a comeback. Kevin Ratzsch led the way as he went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the three point arc for 16 points. The Wildcats were led by Dallas Hodges as he scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Northern State held an advantage in rebounds as they snared 12 to the Wildcats 10 and also only had 8 turnovers compared to 11 for Wayne State in the first half of the contest.

To begin the second half, the Wolves continued to shoot the ball well as they tacked on two more three pointers and a few lay-ups to go ahead by as many as 17 points, 50-33 with just under fourteen minutes to go in the game. A couple of technical fouls on the Wildcat head coach helped the Wolves build their lead up to 65-46 with just less than eight minutes left. The rest of the game saw a lot of free throws from both teams, but the Wolves were able to hold on and get the conference win.

The Wolves shot an astonishing 65.9% (29-of-44) from the floor and 52.6% (10-of-19) from behind the arc. Northern State had 21 assists to the Wildcats' 6 and had 22 bench points to 15 for the Wildcats.

The Wolves were able to get five players in double figures on the night and were led by Kevin Ratszch with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, with 16 of those points coming in the first half. Craig Nelson had 16 points, Mitch Boeck and Luke Wicks had 12 apiece, and Robert Thomas added 10. The Wolves were led on the boards by Ratzsch and Thomas with 6 apiece, while Dan Dewitt led the team in assists six.

The Wildcats were led by Dallas Hodges as he scored 26 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free throw line. The only other player in double figures for the Wildcats was Jonathon Thomas who scored 10 points.

The Wolves will be in action again on Saturday December 9th when they host the Mustangs from SW Minnesota State. The game is set for an 8:00 pm start.