Northern State defeated NSIC regular season champions Winona State 73-69 to win their second straight NSIC Tournament Championship. NSIC Player of the Year Matt Hammer (Jr., G/F, Elkton, S.D.) topped that honor off by being named NSIC Red Baron Men's Basketball Classic Most Valuable Player. The Wolves finished the season 21-10, after falling to #2 Metro State College of Denver in the NCAA DII North Central Regional Quarterfinals. The regional game marked the second year in a row that the Wolves have advance to the regional tournament.
The 20 plus wins marks the 24 th time in 33 year of coaching that Don Meyer has had 20 or more wins. Meyer now sits at 815 career wins, eighth all-time at the four-year level. He sits only 15 wins away from surpassing Clarence “Big House” Gaines (828) and Jim Phelan (830). Meyer is also only four games away from coaching in 1,100 games in his career.
The Wolves finished off the last part of the regular season on a sour note as they dropped four of their last five games to finish third in the NSIC with a 9-5 league mark. But come tournament time the Wolves put together a three game win streak, including wins over (6) Southwest Minnesota State, (2) Bemidji State, and (1) Winona State to make it back-to-back tournament titles.
Northern State’s return to the NCAA North Central Regional marked their sixth ever appearance and second straight year. The Wolves, an eight seed in this years tournament, are 3-6 all-time in regional play with their last win coming in 1998 when the Wolves knocked off South Dakota State 92-86 to advance to the Elite 8. The Wolves, a four seed, fell 99-80 last year to South Dakota State in the first round of the regional. Prior to that the Wolves had a five-year absence from the regional since losing to Neb.-Kearney 80-85 back in 1999.
The Wolves had two players named to the NSIC All-Conference and All-Tournament team. Both players were Matt Hammer and Aaron Busack (Jr., C, Redwood Falls, Minn.).
Matt Hammer was named to the 2005 DAKTRONICS NCAA Division II North Central Region First Team.
For only the second time ever, a player was named NSIC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. Hammer joins Kyle Schlaak of Winona State (2001) as the only players to be named both.
Hammer led the NSIC in scoring with 278 points in 14 conference games and a 19.9 point per game average. A first-team All-NSIC selection, Hammer ranked second in rebounding with 7.8 boards a game. He ranked third in assists with 4.29 per game and fifth in steals with 1.79 a game. Hammer also led the league in overall scoring with 18.8 points a game.
Hammer is only 12 points away from surpassing Sundance Wicks for #25 all-time in scoring at NSU. Hammer has accumulated 1,162 points over the past three seasons, averaging 12.8 points per game.
Busack was named to the NSIC All-Conference Third Team. Busack averaged 13.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game during the regular season. He ranked ninth in the NSIC in scoring, and 15th in rebounding. Busack was also fifth in the NSIC in field goal percentage as he connected on 137 of 254 shots (53.9%).
Busack was an NSIC All-Conference Honorable Mention selection a year ago and was named to the 2004 NSIC All-Tournament Team. Busack is number 24 all-time in scoring in Northern State’s history. He is currently 1 point away from surpassing Gene Lorenz (1981-85) 1,211 points to become #21 on the all-time list.
The Wolves lose three seniors for next season, Tony Birmingham (F, Moorhead, Minn.), Dustin Hjelmeland (F, Staples, Minn.) and Jarod Obering (G, Beatrice, Neb.). Birmingham played in 97 games over his four years averaging 2.2 points per game. Hjelmeland played in 107 games, averaged 7.8 points per game while shooting over 41% from three-point range in his career. He connected on 173 of 419 of his shots from beyond the arc. Obering also was a three-point threat, connecting on 244 three-point attempts. Obering surpassed 1,000 points in his career, finishing with 1,134, which ranks him 29 th all-time in scoring at Northern State.
Northern State University is located in Aberdeen, S.D. and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of t
he Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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