Dec. 30, 2000

Northern State led for virtually the entire game and held off a late rally to defeat Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe Minnesota-Crookston 66-63 Saturday night in Crookston.

NSU (6-6 overall, 2-2 NSIC) led for nearly the entire game and was up by as many as 14 points early in the second half. UMC chipped away at the lead and even pulled to within one point within the last minute, but sophomore guard Nick Schroeder (Plymouth, Minn.) hit two clutch free-throws with eight seconds remaining to help ice the game. Schroeder led four NSU players in double digits with 12 points. Junior point guard Roland Williams (Ft. Worth, Texas) led the Wolves on the boards with seven rebounds to go with 11 points. Juniors Brad Hansen (forward, Tea) and Drew Gruver (guard, Scott City, Kan.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points apiece. Joe Hasz led UMC (3-8, 1-3) with 21 points.

The win was the third in four games for Northern, with the only loss in that stretch in a close decision at nationally-ranked North Dakota Dec. 16.

NSU sophomore forward Sundance Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.) missed the UMC game with a sprained ankle sustained over the holiday break. It was the third game of the season missed due to injury for the 1999-2000 NSIC Newcomer of the Year.