G, 6-1, 165, So.
Osseo, Minn.
Osseo HS
Concordia-St. Paul

Terez VanPelt , the NSIC’s third leading scorer (20.3) and fourth leading distributor (4.1), continued his strong breakout season with a 22-point, 5-assist performance to lead Concordia to a non-conference win over Waldorf on December 19. VanPelt had a 5-to-2 assist-turnover ratio while playing all 40 minutes and made 7-of-9 from the foul line to supplement his 43.8% (7-16) shooting from the floor. He added three rebounds and a steal. In nine games this year, VanPelt has topped 20 points six times including three times with back-to-back 20-point performances. He’s scored at least 13 in every game as well. This was his fourth game topping 20 points and five assists in the same outing, and he’s topped 35 minutes in eight out of nine games this year.

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE -Augustana men’s basketball has been idle since Dec. 15. The Vikings return to conference play this weekend hosting Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.

BEMIDJI STATE - The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team is riding a three-game winning streak coming out of the holiday break after a 2-0 home NSIC home weekend Dec. 14-15. The Beavers defeated U-Mary, 61-40 and Minot State, 73-63. BSU holds a 6-3 overall record and is 4-1 in league play to sit in a seven-way tie for first in the league standings. The 40 points allowed to the Marauders is the lowest output by a BSU opponent since the 1951-52 season and the lowest by a conference opponent since 1950-51. Against Minot State, a late run by Bemidji State lifted it to victory versus its fellow Beavers. In the win senior Dermaine Crockrell matched his previous night’s point total with 22, guided by a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. Senior Lance Rongstad also found a rhythm from downtown and went 5-for-7. The two combined for 10 of the 14 3-pointers hit by BSU in the game, the most the Beavers have knocked down in a conference game this season. BSU has its first three-game win streak under first-year head coach Mike Boschee heading into the new year. The Beavers return to action Jan. 4-5 in an NSIC road weekend at Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. BSU is 24-54 all-time against the Wolves and are 2-3 in the last five meetings. Last season, BSU won 88-59 at home, but fell 70-55 on the road. The Beavers are looking to avenge three losses to the Dragons last season, including a NSIC Tournament semifinal loss in Rochester, Minn. All-time, BSU trials the series 81-89 in a rivalry that dates back to 1928. The Beavers have lost five straight to MSU Moorhead, with their last win coming on the road 79-75 Feb. 12, 2010.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - #25 Terez VanPelt (G, 6-1, 165, So., Osseo, Minn./HS), the league’s third leading scorer (20.3) and fourth leading distributor (4.1), continued his strong breakout season with a 22-point, 5-assist performance to lead Concordia to a non-conference win over Waldorf on December 19. VanPelt had a 5-to-2 assist-turnover ratio while playing all 40 minutes and made 7-of-9 from the foul line to supplement his 43.8% (7-16) shooting from the floor. He added three rebounds and a steal. In nine games this year, VanPelt has topped 20 points six times including three times with back-to-back 20-point performances. He’s scored at least 13 in every game as well. This was his fourth game topping 20 points and five assists in the same outing, and he’s topped 35 minutes in eight out of nine games this year.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY - After a 20 day break, the University of Mary returns to action at #19 St. Cloud State University on Friday, Jan. 4. Alex Dorr (F, 6-6, 205, Sr., Norwalk, IA / Iowa State) continues to make his mark in the national statistical rankings. He is 7th in free throw shooting percentage (96.3), 14th in double doubles (four), 37th in rebounds per game (9.1) and 191st in three pointers made per game (191). The senior forward continues to lead the NSIC in free throw shooting and rebounds. Two other Marauders also crack the NCAA rankings. Marc Musungayi (F, 6-6, 220, Jr., Toronto, Ontario) is 164th in double doubles (one) and 176th in blocked shots per game (1.0). Josh Turner (G, 6-3, 190, Sr., Aurora, CO) is 94th in treys made per game with 2.44.

MINNESOTA, CROOKSTON  -  Minnesota, Crookston  will begin the 2013 portion of their schedule this weekend as they travel to Minnesota State University, Moorhead and Northern State University. The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 3-6 (0-5 NSIC) mark. UMC is led on the season in scoring by junior college transfer Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.), who comes into Friday averaging 13.8 points per game. Senior point guard Almir Krdzalic (Sioux Falls, S.D.) is also averaging double figures for the Golden Eagles, scoring 10.4 points per game.

MINNESOTA DULUTH  - UMD will look to get back on the winning track this weekend, when the Bulldogs host a pair of NSIC clashes against Minot State and the University of Mary. The first half of the season closed on a sour note for UMD, which came up short in three straight outings before heading into the holiday break. The Bulldogs (3-6) swept Mary in two meetings last winter, and have not squared off with Minot State (who joined the NSIC at the beginning of this academic year) since the 1962-63 campaign.

MINNESOTA STATE -   Senior guard Jarvis Williams, sophomore guard Zach Monaghan and Assem Marei all scored 20 points in the 85-84 win over SMSU…The last time MSU had three players with 20-plus points in a game came March 5, 2011 in the NCAA Playoff win against Winona State…Williams finished with 27 while Marei had 23 and Monaghan had 20…Marei had his second career double-double against SMSU finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds…He added another double-double against Sioux Falls, scoring 16 while hauling in a season-high 13 rebounds…MSU has had seven double-doubles this year…The Mavericks are idle until after the new year when they travel to Augustana and Wayne State…MSU is 56-46 all-time against AC and 12-3 all-time against Wayne State.

MSU MOORHEAD - Tyler Vaughan  (G, 6-1, Fr., Braham, Minn. / Braham HS) had a solid all-around performance to help the MSUM men win their fifth straight game, a 63-53 decision over Viterbo on Dec. 29. Vaughan had 12 points, a team-high four assists and four rebounds off the bench for MSUM. He was 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, in the game. It was his fourth double-figure scoring game of the season.
Senior Anthony Tucker recorded his 10th double-figure scoring game in 11 games for the Dragons in their 63-53 win over Viterbo on Dec. 29. He had 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting to help MSUM secure the win. For the season, he leads MSUM at 21 points per game, but also is shooting an impressive 88.5 percent (54-of-61) from the foul line.

MINOT STATE - Minot State University did not play during the Christmas break. The Beavers are back in action Friday and Saturday as they travel to Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State for a pair of Northern  Sun Intercollegiate games.

NORTHERN STATE - Skye Warwick (G, 6-0, 150, Fr., Rapid City, S.D./St. Thomas More HS) came off the bench to hit a trio of three-pointers en-route to a career-high 13 points in NSU’s won over Mayville State on Dec. 18.  The freshman had eight of those points in the second half.  He also had a career-high three rebounds in 23 minutes of court time.

SIOUX FALLS - The University of Sioux Falls begins the New Year with a pair of NSIC road contests, visiting Upper Iowa University Friday and Winona State University Saturday. This weekend marks USF’s first game in more than two weeks, as they suffered their largest defeat of the season in their last outing December 15 when they hosted tough Minnesota State University. The Cougars have dropped three-straight on the road this season.

SMSU - Southwest Minnesota State returns to action this weekend with road NSIC games at Winona State and Upper Iowa.  SMSU has opened the season with 12 tough games - playing 11 NCAA?Division II opponents?and one NCAA?Division I opponent - while only playing four games in Marshall.  The six opponents SMSU has lost to this season have a combined record of 49-16 (as of Jan.
1).  SMSU?has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven straight halves and following five NSIC games, SMSU ranks first in the conference in field goal pct., second in scoring and third in field goal pct. defense.

ST. CLOUD STATE - The 19th-ranked Huskies closed out 2012 with a 90-59 non-conference win over Ashford University on Dec. 29. Shaun Jensen (Sr., G, Spring Lake Park, Minn.) led St. Cloud State with 21 points, six assists and two steals. Tim Bergstraser (Jr., C, St. Cloud, Minn.) played in his first game since last March and recorded nine points and five rebounds. The Huskies are 8-1 overall and are 4-0 against non-conference opponents this year. The Huskies return to NSIC action this weekend and will host the University of Mary on Friday and Minot State on Saturday. SCSU split with Mary last season with each team winning at home. Saturday’s contest with Minot State will be the first against the Beavers.

UPPER IOWA - Tucker Wentzien averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds in two Peacock wins in Hawaii.  In a 67-26 win over Menlo College Wentzien who led the offense with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. The Solon, Iowa native also collected five rebounds, one steal and one assist in just 17 minutes of action. He added 16 points in a 83-63 win over Hawaii Pacific.

WAYNE STATE - Wayne State resumed play following the holiday break with a 72-52 win over Grace University on New Year’s Eve afternoon at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  Senior guard Amry Shelby led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 points and moved up three spots from 11th to eighth on the Wildcat all-time scoring list with 1,369 points.  He moved passed Dean Elofson (1,358 pts from 1966-70), Todd Klostermann (1,365 from 2000-05) and Craig Philipp (1,368 from 1994-98) and is now eighth all-time in scoring at Wayne State College.

WINONA STATE -  The Winona State men’s basketball team will put its three game win streak on the line against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls this weekend. The Warriors ended the 2012 calendar year with wins over Augustana and Wayne State and hold a 9-3 overall mark. Clayton Vette had double-doubles against both Augustana and Wayne State and has recorded five double-doubles on the overall on the season.

Past NSIC Players of the Week
11/13/12: Anthony Tucker - MSUM
11/20/12: Amry Shelby - WSC
11/26/12:  Theo Rothstein - SCSU
12/3/12: Dustin Tetzlaff - NSU
12/10/12: Cameron McCaffrey - Augie
12/17/12: Anthony Tucker - MSUM (2)
1/2/13: Terez VanPelt - CU

#NSIC#