Feb. 11, 2000

Northern State faltered down the stretch, but recovered to defeat Bemidji State 87-81 in overtime Friday night in the Barnett Center.

The Wolves (11-11 overall, 8-6 NSIC) held five-to-10 point leads through most of the game, but went on five-minute offensive drought to allow a 16-3 BSU run in the final six minutes of the game. Suddenly, a once-double digit lead was a 68-71 hole with 29 seconds remaining. Enter senior guard Scott Hanson (Tolna, N.D.).

Tolna High School's all-time leading scorer found a small crack in BSU's perimeter defense and pulled the trigger. The crack closed before Hanson got the shot off, however. He was fouled and sent to the line with 13 seconds remaining in regulation. Despite the pressure, the destination of each free throw was hardly in question after leaving Hanson's hands. With icewater in his veins, he drained all three shots without drawing even rim. BSU failed to convert their last-second attempt and the game was sent to overtime.

Freshman winger Nick Schroeder (Osseo, Minn.) set the tone for the overtime by scoring NSU's first five points. In all, nine of his career-high 22 points came in the extra stanza. Hanson ended with 16 points to go with five assists. Rounding out NSU's double-digit scorers were sophomore post Andy Foster (Caledonia, Minn.) and freshman forward Sundance Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.) with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore post Brad Hansen (Tea) led NSU on the boards with nine rebounds. BSU (8-13, 6-7) was led by Daymon Jackson and Mac Smith, who netted 18 apiece.