WOLVES OVERWHELM SIOUX FALLS

Dec. 11, 2001

O.B. SHOWTIME -- Jarod Obering (O.B.) scores in transition off of one of his three steals against Sioux Falls Tuesday.

Northern's defense may have found the beginning of a new statistic: the under 10 in 10.

That is, NSU has held its last three opponents to under 10 points in the first 10 minutes of each game by coming out with a stifling defense. The latest victim: University of Sioux Falls. Northern jumped out to a 30-9 lead with 9:55 remaining in the first stanza and coasted to a 99-69 victory Tuesday night in NSU's Wachs Arena. The win was Northern's third straight and improved the team's record to 6-3 overall.

The Cougars hit double digits on a jumper from former Northern player Ben Rops to put his team at 11 points. The Wolves went into the locker rooms with a 43-26 lead and were never challenged.

The Wolves also showed they learned from their last game not to not let up in the second half with a big lead. Last weekend against Winona State, the Wolves saw a 20-point halftime lead dwindle to a tie ballgame with under two minutes remaining. Against USF, NSUbettered their first-half offensive output by shooting 67 percent and scoring 56 points to extinguish any comeback hopes.

Head fakin' Foster -- Senior post Andy Foster drew a crowd all night against USF but still managed a double-double.

Five Northern players ended in double digits, led by Brad Hansen's 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 18 minutes of play. The Tea, S.D., native was able to set up shop deep and could seemingly score at will with a post feed; 16 of his points came on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half. Hansen also ended with four blocks. True freshman guard Jarod Obering (Beatrice, Neb.) lit up the scoreboard in the second half with four 3-pointers and ended with a career-high 15 points to go with three steals. Senior post Andy Foster (Caledonia, Minn.) also had his way in the paint, finishing with a double-double. Foster had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with 13 points. Juniors Nick Schroeder (Plymouth, Minn.) and Sundance Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.) ended with 14 and 13 points, respectively, to round out NSU's double-digit scorers.

USF (7-5) was led by Adam Burnison's 15 points. Rops ended with 12 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds.