Nov. 18, 2000

Northern State built an eight-point lead at halftime and coasted to a 78-58 win to win the consolation round of the Minnesota State-Mankato Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament Saturday.

In stark contrast to Friday's game, the Wolves came out on fire Saturday and never let up, shooting 62 percent from the field in the first half and finishing the game at 61 percent (25-41). Meanwhile, NSU's defense held Bellevue to under 40 percent shooting from the floor.

Northern was led by sophomore sharpshooter Nick Schroeder (Plymouth, Minn.), who drained 7-of-10 shots including 5-of-7 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 19 points. Junior post Brad Hansen (Tea) put up another solid night, putting up 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting to go with a team-high six rebounds. Junior point guard Roland Williams (Ft. Worth, Texas) and junior wing Drew Gruver (Scott City, Kan.) scored 14 and 12, respectively, to round out NSU's double-digit performers. Freshman guard Steve Smiley (Arvada, Colo.) led the team with eight assists.

The Wolves (1-1) host Chadron State Monday at 7 p.m. in the team's home opener.