Theo Rothstein led St. Cloud State in a pair of wins at the FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic hosted by Florida Southern College last weekend. The leading scorer for the Huskies in both games Rothstein matched his career best with 21 points in a 91-89 dramatic win over Florida Southern on Friday and on Saturday put down 23 points against Saint Joseph’s College for a new career best. Over the weekend he averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds. He shot 60 percent from the field making 18 of 30 attempts including an 11 of 18 performance on Saturday. He also made four of seven three point baskets for a 57.1 percent average. Rothstein had the assist on the game winning, buzzer beating basket Friday night over 22nd ranked FSC. Through the first three games of the season, Rothstein is averaging 20.0 points per game and shooting 60.5 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range and 81.8 percent from the free throw line.
Audio of SCSU Buzzer Beater Against Flordia Southern - JW Cox KNSI 1450 AM, 103.3 FM

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE -#1 Cameron McCaffrey (G, Sr., 6-1, 170, Portland, Ore./Century) moved into the top 10 all-time scoring list at Augustana with 21 points in a 66-47 win over Dakota State last Monday, helping Augustana to its first 4-0 start since the 2009 season.  McCaffrey was 8 of 16 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. McCaffrey has now scored 1,383 career points. Augustana opens NSIC action on Saturday, Dec. 1, hosting Wayne State at 6 p.m.

BEMIDJI STATE - #1 Dermaine Crockrell (G, 6-1, 165, Sr., Mesa, Ariz. / Scottsdale CC) guided the Beavers to a 1-1 week with 15.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game Nov. 20-21. He went 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the field, 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc and 4-for-5 (80 percent) from the charity stripe, plus he added three steals and a block with just one turnover. In a 122-67 victory at Finlandia University Nov. 21, Crockrell scored 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and knocked down 4-of-5 shots from downtown. He also added six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block.  Bemidji State is 2-2 after a 1-1 road trip to Michigan Nov. 20-21. The Beavers fell 86-59 to Michigan Tech University – who are receiving votes in the national poll – before defeating Finlandia University 122-67. The 122 points was the second most the Beavers have scored in regulation in program history. The record at BSU is 126 in a 126-96 victory against Northland Dec. 13, 1991. Six different Beavers posted double-figures in scoring, guided by a 20-point performance from senior Dermaine Crockrell. The Beavers knocked down 17 3-pointers in the win, guided by a 5-for-6 performance from sophomore Tor Anderson. The Beavers open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play and the home portion of their schedule Dec. 1 when they entertain University of Minnesota, Crookston (3-0). BSU will defend an eight-game winning streak against the Golden Eagles and its 39-13 all-time advantage in the series. The last loss the Beavers suffered at the hands of UMC was in Crookston, Minn. in 2008 and the last time BSU lost at home to Minnesota, Crookston was Nov. 11, 1994 (17-0 since that loss). The game will serve as the first NSIC contest for first-year head coach Mike Boschee. 

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - #25 Terez VanPelt (G, 6-1, 165, So., Osseo, Minn./HS) produced 19.5 points per game in two games on the West Coast last weekend, adding 4.5 assists while shooting 52.0% (13-25) from the field in helping the team to a split and earning All-Tournament honors at the Chuck Randall Classic. He played in 71 of 80 minutes in the two games, averaging 35.5 per contest. In their first game on the home court of the defending Division II Champions, sxith-ranked Western Washington, VanPelt scored 23 points with six assists, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor adding a pair of steals. His strong play down the stretch put the Golden Bears ahead in the final minutes before the narrow 4-point loss. On Saturday against Alaska-Fairbanks, VanPelt led the Golden Bears with 16 points and three assists on 5-of-10 shooting in 35 minutes. In three games on the season, VanPelt is second in the NSIC with 20.3 points per game and ranks fifth with 4.0 assists per game with a 35.7 minute per game average.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY - Alex Dorr (F, 6-6, 205, Sr., Norwalk, IA / Norwalk HS / Iowa State) moved to the top of the Northern Sun rebounding chart after posting two double doubles in Florida. The senior forward opened Thanksgiving weekend with 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a 65-64 loss to Saint Joseph’s (IN) College. He hit all four free throw attempts and was 3-of-6 on three point attempts. The Norwalk, IA, native followed with his third straight double double, pairing 13 points and 11 rebounds. He made all five free throws, made two treys and distributed two assists in an 82-75 loss to #22 Florida Southern. Dorr averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds while making all nine free throw attempts. On the year he is averaging 14.5 points and 12.0 rebounds and is perfect at the free throw line in 13 attempts.

MINNESOTA, CROOKSTON  - Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.) has led the Golden Eagles in scoring in all three games so far this season. Burns tallied 14 points and six rebounds in Tuesday’s 55-48 win over Mayville State University to catapult the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 non-conference start. Burns is currently averaging 16.7 points per game in his first three games as a member of the UMC men’s basketball team.

MINNESOTA DULUTH  - UMD came back from San Antonio, Tex. with a win and a loss in a tournament hosted by St. Mary’s University. Four Bulldogs reached double figures in scoring in Friday night’s 71-68 win over Angelo State, in which the Bulldogs were led by the 14 points of junior guard Jordan Reetz. A transfer from Michigan Tech, Reetz added 10 rebounds for his first double-double in a UMD uniform. The Bulldogs had a much tougher go of it Saturday night against the nation’s second-ranked team, falling 86-61 to regional foe Washburn of the MIAA. Dylan Rodriguez led the way with 13 points in Saturday’s loss, which knocked UMD to 2-2 on the year. The Bulldogs open conference play on Saturday at St. Cloud State.

MINNESOTA STATE -  Assem Marei (F, 6-9, 250, So., Cairo, Egypt) scored a season-high 19 points as he helped lead the Mavericks to a 92-63 victory over Mount Marty last weekend.  Marei, who finished the night 7-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line grabbed four rebounds and blocked three shots in just 14 minutes of action. 
Minnesota State finished the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 4-0 record…The Mavericks open the NSIC portion of its schedule against its travel partner, Concordia…MSU leads the all-time series 12-5 but CU has won the last three games…Against Mount Marty last weekend, sophomore forward Assem Marei scored a season and game-high 19 points while redshirt freshman guard Jaymeson Moten added a season-high 14 points…Fifty-two of MSU’s 92 points in the victory came in the paint…Sophomore guard Lucas Brown grabbed a game-high eight rebounds against Mount Marty and sophomore guard Zach Monaghan passed out a game-high nine assists while snagging five steals.

MSU MOORHEAD - Anthony Tucker (G, 6-4, Sr., Burnsville, Minn. / Minnetonka HS) scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead the MSU Moorhead men to a 70-57 win over neighboring rival Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 20. Tucker added five rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win. He averages 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game.
Senior forward Alex Novak continued his solid start to the season with a 14-point, four-rebound effort in the Dragons’ win over Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 20. Novak hit 6-of-12 shots from the field. For the season he is averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

MINOT STATE - Was idle last week.

NORTHERN STATE - Northern State was idle over the Thanksgiving holiday.  The Wolves will wrap up non-conference play on Wednesday against Carleton College before beginning NSIC play against MSU Moorhead on Saturday.

SIOUX FALLS - Sioux Falls completed its 2012 non-conference schedule with a 56-42 win over Dakota State University Saturday night at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. After posting a season-low 20 points in the opening half, the Cougars outscored the Trojans 36-21 in the second period to improve to 4-0 on the season. A.J. Holland (G, 6-3, 185, Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and James Rader (C, 6-8, 225, Sr., Littleton, Colo.) led the way with 13 points each for USF. The matchup was a regular season contest for USF, but an exhibition for DSU. The Trojans remain 5-1 this season. With the win, USF has now tallied 18 consecutive victories at home. USF begins conference play Saturday December 1 when they travel to Marshall, Minn. to take on Southwest Minnesota State University.

SMSU - Junior center Nick Smith (6-9, Johnston, Iowa) averaged 11.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games last week against very tough competition.  Smith also shot 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from the field and recorded six blocked shots, two assists and one steal in the three games. Smith scored 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting with eight rebounds at NCAA Division I South Dakota State on Wednesday night, then scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebound in a victory over Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon.  He closed the week scoring 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting with seven rebounds in SMSU’s loss to Northwest Missouri State.  UCM and NMSU were picked to finish 2-3 in the MIAA this season.

ST. CLOUD STATE - Theo Rothstein (Sr., F, St. Michael, Minn.) led the Huskies in a pair of wins at the FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic hosted by Florida Southern College last Friday and Saturday. The leading scorer for the Huskies in both games Rothstein matched his career best with 21 points in a 91-89 dramatic win over Florida Southern on Friday and on Saturday put down 23 points against Saint Joseph’s College for a new career best. Over the weekend he averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds. He shot 60 percent from the field making 18 of 30 attempts including an 11 of 18 performance on Saturday. He also made four of seven three point baskets for a 57.1 percent average. Rothstein had the assist on the game winning, buzzer beating basket Friday night over 22nd ranked FSC. Through the first three games of the season, Rothstein is averaging 20.0 points per game and shooting 60.5 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range and 81.8 percent from the free throw line.
St. Cloud State went 2-0 at the FSC Ledger Media Group/Terrace Hotel Classic hosted by Florida Southern College and have opened the season with a 3-0 mark. The Huskies opened the classic with a 91-89 win over 22nd ranked FSC on Friday and followed that with a 71-52 win over Saint Joseph’s College (Ind.) Saturday. SCSU opened the weekend with a dramatic win over host school Florida Southern. The Huskies had a 20 point lead late in the first half that dropped to 11 points, 50-39 at the half.  FSC took an 81-78 lead at the 2:02 mark of the second half and it looked like the Mocs had the game won on a tip-in with 0.4 seconds on the clock. SCSU inbounded the ball to Kevin Levandoski (Jr., G, Appleton, Wis.) at the midcourt line. Levandoski made the shot at the buzzer for the win.  Theo Rothstein (Sr., F, St. Michael, Minn.) led the Huskies in scoring in both games. On Friday, Rothstein matched his career best with 21 points and on Saturday put down 23 points for a new career best. Over the weekend he averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds. He shot 60 percent from the field making 18 of 30 attempts including an 11 of 18 performance on Saturday. He also made four of seven three point baskets for a 57.1 percent average. Rothstein had the assist on the game winning basket Friday night as the Huskies scored the winning basket at the buzzer. Rothstein has led the Huskies in scoring in all three games this season. Several Huskies had career  bests in scoring, rebounds and assists in the classic. Levandoski (career high 15 points vs. FSC), Damarius Cruz (Jr., G, Robbinsdale, Minn.)  career high 16 points vs. SJC, James Fort (So., C, Annandale, Minn.) career high 12 points and nine rebounds against SJC and Shaun Jensen (Sr., G, Spring Lake Park, Minn.) had a career high 11 assists and nine rebounds against SJC. St. Cloud State will open the NSIC at home on Saturday, Dec. 1 against Minnesota Duluth.

UPPER IOWA - Tucker Wentzien (P, 6-8, 240, Sr., Solon, Iowa) averaged 17 points and 6.5 rebounds over the weekend as Upper Iowa dropped a pair of games at the Bearcat Classic hosted by Northwest Missouri State.  The Peacock center shot 55.6% (15-27) from the floor and added a pair of blocks. Upper Iowa (2-2) lost a pair of seven-point decisions to Northwest Missouri State (59-52) and Central Missouri (74-67).  Grant Lang joined Wentzien in double figures over the weekend averaging 10.5 points and 2.5 rebounds thanks to five trifectas for the sophomore from Ankeny, Iowa.  As a team, the Peacocks shot 44% from the floor and 80% at the free throw line, but only reached the charity stripe 15 times in two games.  The Peacocks and Warriors of Winona State will open NSIC play in Winona, Minnesota on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. squaring off at McCown Gymnasium.

WAYNE STATE - Derrell Williams (F, 6-4, Sr.,  St. Clair Shores, Mich. / Wayne County CC) notched his second straight double-double by scoring a career-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds in Wayne State’s 80-54 on Saturday in the Wildcats’ game versus Peru State.  Williams was 11 of 15 from the field in helping the Wildcats improve to 4-0 on the season.  For the season, Williams is now averaging 14 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting a sizzling 64.9 percent (24 of 37) from the field.

WINONA STATE -  Clayton Vette (C, 6-9, 240, Sr., Waverly, Iowa  / Waverly-Shell Rock HS) averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds as Winona State closed its non-conference schedule with wins over Northwood and Ferris State. Vette shot 45.8 percent from the floor on the weekend and was an impressive 15-of-19 from the free throw line. Vette opened the weekend with 29 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Northwood. The senior was 10-of-20 from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line while also collecting two blocks, two assists and a steal. He added eight points in a win over Ferris State the next day.

Past NSIC Players of the Week
11/13/12: Anthony Tucker - MSUM
11/20/12: Amry Shelby - WSC
11/26/12:  Theo Rothstein - SCSU

#NSIC#