HANSEN POURS IN 30 AS WOLVES BOUNCE BACK WITH WIN OVER CROOKSTON

Jan. 5, 2002

Pressure D: Junior guard Nick Schroeder defends a UMC guard. NSU held UMC to 30 percent shooting in the second half to secure a win Saturday night.

Northern State got back to its winning ways Saturday night with an 84-74 win over Minnesota-Crookston in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup in NSU's Barnett Center.

Northern led for nearly all the first half, but Crookston cut the lead to 39-38 at halftime. The teams then traded leads 10 times in the second half before NSU gained some semblance of control again in the final five minutes. The Wolves finished off the Golden Eagles by ending the game on a 9-2 run. NSU shot 54 percent for the game and out-rebounded UMC 44-29.

The Wolves (10-4, 5-1 NSIC) were led by a career scoring performance from senior post Brad Hansen (Tea), who put up 30 points to go with 11 rebounds, three steals and four blocks. But Hansen didn't put up NSU's only double-double of the night. Junior forward Sundance Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.) also notched one with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists and three steals. Sophomore point guard Steve Smiley (Arvada, Colo.) rounded out NSU's double-digit scorers by netting 12 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists. UMC (4-9, 2-3 NSIC) was led by the NSIC's leading scorer in Joe Hasz, who put up 27 points.

Thunder's Wrath -- NSU mascot Thunder, shown here discussing halftime strategy with former NSU player Jake Phillips, helped a crowd of over 3,000 avenge Friday's home loss with a win over UMC Saturday night.

Northern received a scare when junior guard Nick Schroeder went down in a heap late in the second half with what looked like an ankle injury. His status is not yet known.

NSU, which is ranked 10th in the North Central Region, continues conference play next weekend with a tough road slate at Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State. Bemidji defeated travel partner Duluth 82-80 in Bemidji Saturday.

That sets up the top three teams in the conference for next weekend, as BSU sports a 4-1 league mark while Duluth is 3-2 in the NSIC. Despite suffering its first conference loss this weekend, NSU still stands on top in the NSIC with a 5-1 league mark.