| November 30th, 2005 | 1st |
2nd |
Final |
Record |
| North Dakota | 4-2, 0-0 NCC | |||
| #12 Northern State | 7-0, 0-0 NSIC |
ABERDEEN, S.D. – #12 Northern State (7-0, 0-0 NSIC) opened up on a 6-0 run and cruised to a 84-62 drubbing of North Dakota (4-2, 0-0 NCC) in front of 4,221 fans at Barnett Center. All four Northern State seniors, who all had never defeated North Dakota, scored in double figures in the game. Matt Hammer (Sr., F, Elkton, S.D.) led all scorers with 24 points as he moved up to #20 all-time in scoring at NSU as he has amassed 1,259 points in his career.
You would have to go back to the 2001-02 season, pre Hammer, Busack, and Grant, to find the last time that Northern State defeated the University of North Dakota. The Sioux have won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams prior to tonight, with four of the last six games having been within ten points or less, including last years 70-80 loss up in Grand Forks. But things were different at Barnett Center tonight when all four Northern State seniors stepped up and put a whooping on the Sioux to get their first taste of victory over them.
Northern State shot out of the gates taking a 6-0 lead two minutes into the game. They would continue to pour it on and lead by 20, 46-20, with 1:39 to go in the first half before the Sioux would go on a 5-0 run to close out the half.
The Wolves opened the second half on a 15-5 run to lead 61-38 with 14 minutes to go. The Sioux would not get any closer than 16 the rest of the game.
The Wolves defense was tenacious as the forced 17 UND turnovers, 12 on steals which they turned into 17 points. The Wolves were also running the court as they outscored the Sioux 17 to 2 in fast break points. Down low the Wolves showed their prowess as well as they had a 32 to 14 advantage in points in the paint.
Leading the pack was Hammer (Sr., F, Elkton, S.D.) with his game high 24 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He also had a game high six rebounds and five assists in his thirty minutes of play. Adam Grant (Sr., F, Berthold, N.D.) scored a season high 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting and grabbed four boards while Bjoern Schoo (Sr, C, Germany) had 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting. Aaron Busack (Sr., C, Redwood Falls, Minn.) added 10 points of his own in 22 minutes of play.
The Wolves shot 59.6% (31-52) from the floor and 8 of 14 (57.1%) from three point range. The Sioux were 20-56 (35.7%) from the field and 10 of 22 (45.4%) from three point range. Neither team excelled at the free throw line as the Wolves were 14 of 19 (73.7%) while the Sioux were 12 of 18 (66.7%). The rebounding edge went to the Wolves with a 32 to 29 advantage, but the Sioux won on the offensive end 15 to 9.
Northern State opens up the 2005-06 season 7-0 with seven home games. Their first two road tests come up next as they travel to Northwest Missouri State on Sunday, Dec. 4 th at 2:00 p.m. They will then travel to Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday, Dec. 11 th to take on the Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. The Wolves end the 2005 part of their schedule back home against Augustana College on Saturday, Dec. 17 th at 8:00 p.m.
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Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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