Golden Hammer

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Hammer Scores Game High 22 Points in 1st Round Win

Aberdeen, S.D. – No. 14 Northern State (24-4, 11-3 NSIC) used the right tool for the job as Matt Hammer scored a game high 22 in knocking off Concordia St. Paul (16-12, 5-9 NSIC) 79-52 in the first round of the NSIC/Red Baron Men’s Basketball Classic. Hammer set a career high when he hit all four of his three point attempts as the second seeded Wolves move on to battle third seeded Bemidji State Beavers on Saturday, March 4 th at 2:00 p.m. in Winona. Minn.

Northern State dominated the boards on both ends of the court as they out rebounded the Golden Bears 48 to 33 and 21 to 13 on the offensive end. The Wolves also had 25 second chance points and 29 points off 20 Golden Bear turnovers.

The Golden Bears struggled shooting as they were a mere 15-of-50 (30%) from the field and a dreadful 1-of-13 (7.7%) from three-point range. The Wolves were 24-of-60 (40%) from the field and 10-of-19 (53%) from three-point range.

Matt Hammer (Sr., F, Elkton, S.D.) led all scorers with his 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Hammer was a perfect 4-of-4 from three point ranges, grabbed eight rebounds and napped four steals in the game. Adam Grant (Sr., F, Berthold, N.D.) scored 14 while Bjoern Schoo (Sr., C, Germany) added 13 as he was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Leading the Golden Bears was Ty Thomas with 16 points and eight rebounds, but he was only 7-of-20 from the field and committed eight turnovers.

The 3,012 fans at Barnett Center upped the Northern State men’s basketball total attendance for the season to 70,499, which averages to 3,917 over the 18 home games this season.

Northern State now advances to the NSIC/Red Baron Men’s Basketball Classic semifinals on Saturday, March 4 th at 2:00 p.m. in Winona, Minn. The Wolves will battle the third seeded Bemidji State Beavers. At 4:00 p.m. regular season champions, Winona State will take on the fourth seed Mustangs of SW Minnesota State. Championship game will be held on Sunday, March 5 th at 2:00 p.m. in Winona, Minn.

NSIC/Red Baron Men’s Basketball 1 st Round Results
March 1 st, 2006
(8) Minnesota, Crookston 59 at (1) #6 Winona State 88
(7) Concordia St. Paul 52 at (2) #14 Northern State 79
(6) MSU Moorhead 63 at (3) Bemidji State 76
(5) Wayne State 57 at (4) SW Minnesota State 71

NSIC/Red Baron Men’s Basketball Semi-finals
March 4th, 2006 – Winona, Minn.
(3) Bemidji State vs. (2) #14 Northern State 2:00 pm
(4) SW Minnesota State at (1) #6 Winona State 4:00 pm

Press Notes