Jan. 9, 1999

It's not often a team can draw many positives after going into halftime down by seven points, but such was the case Saturday night in Wachs Arena in the Wolves' eventual 76-63 win over Bemidji State University on opening night in NSIC hoops.

The Beavers led 38-31 after the first frame but it could have been much worse when considering the Wolves shot a dismal 27 percent from the field compared to BSU's red-hot 65 percent. Northern stayed close by knocking down 10-of-11 free throws in the first stanza.

The Wolves flipped the script right away in the second half, missing just four shots while going on a 12-2 run in the first seven minutes out of the locker room to take a 43-40 lead. Meanwhile, Bemidji went cold, shooting only 28 percent in the second half to allow NSU to outscore the Beavers 45-25 in the second frame.

Junior point guard Scott Hanson (Tolna, N.D.) stepped up his offensive production to offset the Wolves' early struggles, finishing with a team-high 18 points including three treys. Sophomore center Ben Dahl (Cottonwood, Minn.) pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Larry Smith led Bemidji with 18 points.