BALANCED SCORING ATTACK LEADS WOLVES OVER AUGUSTANA

December 20, 2003

Aberdeen, S.D. - Five Wolves reached double-figures in scoring as Northern State knocked off Augustana 78-67 in men's basketball action in Wachs Arena Saturday night.

Northern State led 19-9 midway through the first period and was able to extend its lead to 11 at the halftime break before the lead reached 17 with 18:26 to play in the second frame.

Augie slowly crept back into the game pulling within eight with 6:28 to play but good free throw shooting and timely Wolf layups kept the Vikings at bay long enough for Northern State to capture a 78-67 victory.

Adam Grant and Aaron Busack led the Wolves with 13 points each while Kyle Schwan added a career high 12 followed by 11 points from Matt Hammer and ten for Steve Smiley.

Hammer and Grant led NSU with six boards each and Hammer Obering and Smily eached dished off four assists on the night.

NSU shot at a hot 55 percent clip on the evening while holding Augie to just over 40 percent from the floor. The Wolves hit 7-of-18 from three-point range and committed 17 turnovers.

Augustana's Jon Wagner came off the bench to hit for a career high 35 points on 11-of-20 shooting and going 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

Northern State (7-2) faces North Dakota State on Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. in Fargo, N.D.

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