For Immediate Release
Monday, Dec. 23, 2013

NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Player of the Week
#24 Jake Schalow
G, 6-4, 180, SR.,
Kaukauna, Wis.
Kaukauna HS
Bemidji State

Schalow recorded a career-high 30 points on an efficient 10-of-13 (76.9%) shooting from the field, a 7-of-8 (87.5%) effort from 3-point land and a perfect 3-of-3 performance from the free throw line in the 103-61 home victory against Minnesota Crookston on Dec. 20. The seven 3-pointers and the 87.5 percentage from long range each are the best single-game performances in the NSIC in league games this season. Schalow added three assists, three rebounds and an a steal in 29 minutes of play versus the Golden Eagles. He had six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half (6-of-7). 

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE - #32 Casey Schilling (F, 6-6, 190, So., Ellsworth, Minn./Ellsworth HS) picked up his fourth straight double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds against Wayne State. Schilling finished the game 5 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line while grabbing 10 defensive rebounds. He also added two steals, one block and one assist. Schilling is averaging 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds over the last four games, and currently leads the NSIC in scoring with 18.5 points per game and ranks second in rebounds averaging 9.3 per game.  
#34 Daniel Jansen (F, 6-9, 230, So., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley HS) recorded his second double-double of the season to lead Augustana to a 77-55 win over Wayne State on Saturday night. Jansen finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists, two blocks and a steal. He now has five career double-doubles and is averaging 17.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

BEMIDJI STATE - #24 Jake Schalow (G, 6-4, 180, Sr., Kaukauna, Wis. / Kaukauna HS) recorded a career-high 30 points on an efficient 10-of-13 (76.9%) shooting from the field, a 7-of-8 (87.5%) effort from 3-point land and a perfect 3-of-3 performance from the free throw line in the 103-61 home victory against Minnesota Crookston Dec. 20. The seven 3-pointers and the 87.5 percentage from long range each are the best single-game performances in the NSIC in league games this season. Schalow added three assists, three rebounds and an a steal in 29 minutes of play versus the Golden Eagles. He had six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half (6-of-7).
BSU capped the 2013 calendar year with a decisive 103-61 home victory against Minnesota Crookston. The Beavers shot a program record 68.5 percent from the field (37-of-54), which is also a NSIC-best this season. BSU dished out 25 assists to tie a NSIC-high in 2013-14. The Beavers host Winona State University and Upper Iowa University Jan. 3-4. Bemidji State begins the new year leading the NSIC in free throw percentage (74.4%) and steals (98 – 9.8 spg). Senior forward Maxie Rosenbloom leads the league in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (66.0%). BSU is 5-3 against Winona State since 2009-10, which includes a 74-72 upset of the then-No. 21 Warriors in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Quarterfinals last season. After defeating WSU, BSU headed to Rochester, Minn. and downed Upper Iowa 64-61 to advance to the tournament championship for the first time in program history.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - Concordia fell 67-58 on the road at #16 Minnesota State on Saturday, dropping both games in the season series with the Mavericks … Concordia’s defense held MSU’s offense, which averaged 87.5 points and had been shooting over 50% from the floor on the year, to just 67 points and 40.7% shooting … but the Golden Bears continued their season shooting woes by converting just 36.1% … the two teams made the same amount of field goals (22) and three-pointers (7) in the game as Concordia continues to be one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the league with 13 against MSU … but foul shooting was the difference as MSU outscored Concordia by nine at the stripe, which was the final margin … Concordia junior guards Terez VanPelt and Travon Mitchell each scored 17 points and combined to shoot 50% from the floor (13-26) while the rest of the team shot just 25.7% (9-35) … junior Keith Crockett posted a solid 6-to-1 assist-turnover ratio as well.
The Golden Bears return home after the New Year and will host Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State on Jan. 3-4 … the Golden Bears are 9-13 all-time against UMD and 4-6 at Gangelhoff Center against the Bulldogs … after losing the first nine games in the series, Concordia is 9-4 against UMD dating back to a Jan. 8, 2004 win at UMD and head coach Kelly Boe holds a 6-3 mark against the Bulldogs since taking over in 2006-07 … the Golden Bears have also won five of the last six in the series dating back to a Feb. 7, 2009 win at Gangelfhoff Center … Concordia has won the last four contests against UMD at home … Concordia and St. Cloud State will square off for the 22nd time with SCSU leading the series 16-5 … Concordia is 3-6 against SCSU at Gangelhoff Center and 4-10 against the Huskies in Boe’s tenure … SCSU has won the last two meetings and three of the last four.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY -  For the sixth time in seven games, Devan Douglas reached double figures in scoring for the Marauders. The junior guard from Clinton, Iowa, Led the University of Mary with 11 points in a loss to Minot State over the weekend. For the year Douglas is averaging 10.4 points per game and is knocking down 59 per cent of his shot attempts. He is also converting 71.4 per cent of his free throw attempts.

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON  - Jake Schalow’s 30 points, including seven three-pointers led Bemidji State University to a decisive 103-61 win over University of Minnesota Crookston Friday night at BSU Gymnasium. The Beavers would finish the game shooting 68.5 percent from the field and 60.9 percent from trey including 14 threes as a team to defeat UMC. The Golden Eagles fall to 4-6 (1-5 NSIC) while Bemidji State improves to 7-3 (4-2 NSIC) with the victory. Bemidji State sweeps the season series against UMC 2-0 after Friday’s victory.
The Golden Eagles were led on the game by 17 points from Ashton Harrell (Sr., G, Houston, Texas/Sports and Rec Management). Harrell was 6-of-12 from the field, with two treys and was 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. After being off recently, Derrick Redd (So., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management) had a bounce-back game for the Golden Eagles with 13 points off of the bench. Tim Lubke (Jr., G, St. Paul, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) and Brandon Burns (Sr., F, Baton Rouge, La./Sports and Rec Management) each had eight points.
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH  - UMD maintained its home court advantage and earned itself an upset win over St. Cloud State, proving the Bulldogs have plenty of bite even with a pair of sidelined stars. UMD was up early big, holding a 43-30 halftime lead, and held on against the surging Huskies in the game’s closing seconds.
Junior guard Reece Zoelle led all scorers with 22 points while also hauling in seven rebounds, grabbing one steal, and adding an assist. Zoelle’s key contribution came on the defensive end in the game’s closing seconds. Up three, Zoelle fouled SCSU’s Jordan Poydras to put him on the line for two rather than allowing a buzzer-beating three-point shot to secure the victory for UMD.
Freshman forward Lane Olson came off the bench with eight points and a game-high nine boards. Seniors Peter Crawford and Jordan Reetz, along with freshman Justin Byrd, all hit double digits scoring as UMD shot 49.0 percent for the game.

MINNESOTA STATE - #32 Gage Wooten (G, 6-4, 210, Sr., Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest/Missouri State-West Plains) led the Maverick offense against Concordia St. Paul last week as he netted a career-high 23 points, to go along with nine rebounds. He also matched his career-high with five assists as well. From the field, Wooten connected on 8-of-10 (.800) shots from the field, including a 4-of-6 (.667) showing from behind the arc. He also shot 3-of-4 (.750) from the line and recorded one block and one steal in 32 minutes.
With its win over the Golden Bears, MSU improved to 11-2 on the season, including a 5-1 mark in NSIC action. The Mavericks have now won their last three games.  A total of four Mavericks recorded at least 10 points in MSU’s win over Concordia-St. Paul including Gage Wooten (23), Connor O’Brien (11), Zach Monaghan (11) and Tanner Adler (10).  MSU passed out 15 assists in its most recent win, while forcing 13 Golden Bear turnovers.

MSU MOORHEAD - Urbane Bingham (6-8, F/C, Jr., Farmington Hills, Minn. / North Farmington HS) set career-highs in points and free throws made in a 70-69 loss at Northern State on Saturday night. Bingham scored a career-high 22 points and hit 11-of-13 free throws in the the game. Bingham added four rebounds. He leads the Dragons at 11.6 points per game this season.
MSUM saw a nine-game winning end in a 70-69 loss at Northern State on Saturday. Despite the setback, MSUM is still in strong position in the NSIC through seven games. The Dragons are 5-1 in league play and trail league-leader Winona State by one in the standings. MSUM, which resumes Jan. 3 at Sioux Falls, is tied with Northern State atop the North Division as well.

MINOT STATE - Minot State University snapped a four-game losing streak and earned its first road win of the season behind a stellar defensive effort, downing the University of Mary 71-49 Friday in Bismarck, N.D. The Beavers held the Marauders to just nine field goals in each half, 36 percent shooting overall and limited U-Mary to less than 50 points for the second time in three games. Balance was also a big key for the Beavers as six players scores six or more points and four reached double figures, paced by #2 Chris East (F, 6-6, 218, Sr., Toronto, Ontario / Mother Theresa / ASA Institute) who scored a game-high 14 points and added six rebounds. East is just 31 rebounds shy of reaching 500 points-500 rebounds in his career. #3 E.J. Williams (G, 6-0, 190, Sr., Raleigh, N.C. / Capitol Hill / Cape Fear Community College) shook of poor shooting to play one of his most complete games in a Beavers’ uniform, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Minot State will be off until January as the Beavers take on Wayne State College and Augustana College Jan. 3 and 4 at the Minot State Dome.

NORTHERN STATE - Northern State has won five-straight games after a thrilling, buzzer-beating win Saturday evening over MSU Moorhead. Skye Warwick nailed a long three-pointer at the buzzer as Northern State stuns MSU Moorhead 70-69 Saturday night in Aberdeen.  Tied at 67-67, the Dragons took the lead with 2.2 seconds left after Jordan Riewer found Tarell Clark cutting to the hoop for the go-ahead layup. After a Wolves timeout, Jared Hannigan’s great inbounds pass hit Spencer Pankonin just beyond halfcout, Pankonin spun around and found a wide open Warwick on the wing for the game-winner. The win avenges Northern’s only loss during conference play as the Dragons beat NSU 87-76 back on November 30 in the NSIC opener. Saturday’s win moves Northern into a tie for first place in the NSIC North Division along with MSUM.
The Wolves are third in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and are third in the league averaging 14 assists per contest. The Wolves will begin the new year against Southwest Minnesota and Sioux Falls. Northern is 1-2 against the Mustangs and 2-0 versus USF under Head Coach Paul Sather.

SIOUX FALLS - Southwest Minnesota State (7-5, 4-2 NSIC) raced past the University of Sioux Falls men’s basketball team on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 985 by a count of 63-51 at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minn. Jordan Stotts and Cutler Finneman led the Cougars (5-5, 2-4 NSIC) with nine points each. Derek Brown and Bryan Kielpinski added seven points on the night. The Cougars never led in the contest. Perhaps the most telling aspect of the game – was that the Cougars, who averaged more than 26 trips to the line entering the night, shot 15-for-19 from the charity stripe. The Mustangs ended the night shooting 7-of-13 (.528) from behind the arc. In contrast, USF, which entered the game ranked second in the NSIC in three-balls per game, finished just 4-for-18 (.222) from deep. The Cougars were outrebounded, 32-28, and were edged in both steals (8-5) and blocks (4-3). Stotts also tied SMSU’s Mitch Weg for game-high honors with seven rebounds. USF is off for holiday break but will return to action the weekend of Jan. 3-4, when the Cougars will host MSU-Moorhead and Northern State. The Cougars are 0-2 this season versus in-state opponents.

SMSU - Senior center Nick Smith (6-9, Johnston, Iowa) averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games, while shooting 68.4 percent (13 of 19) from the field in two SMSU victories last week. Smith scored a game-high 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting with five rebounds to help SMSU defeated UW-La Crosse 83-57. UW-L entered the game with a record of 7-1. Smith then scored eight points on 4 of 7 shooting with three rebounds and two blocked shots in SMSU’s 63-51 victory over Sioux Falls. Smith, SMSU’s all-time leader in blocked shots with 140, has scored 982 career points.

ST. CLOUD STATE - The Huskies will go into the Holiday break with an 8-2 overall record after suffering their second loss of the season on the road at Minnesota Duluth, 79-78. The loss ended a seven-game Huskies win streak over the Bulldogs. Both Huskies losses so far this season have been on the road. Jordan Poydras (So., G, De Pere, Wis.) led the Huskies with 21 points against Bulldogs. Poydras leads the Huskies in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game.  The Huskies have outscored their opponents by 15.5 points a game. James Fort (Jr., C, South Haven, Minn.) continues to shoot well from the field as he is making 63.8 percent of his field goal attempts. The Huskies return to the road Jan. 3-4 with games at Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul. St. Cloud State and the Mavericks will meet for the 175th time and the Huskies lead the all-time series 95-79. The Huskies are 16-5 all-time against the Golden Bears.
 
UPPER IOWA - Despite outscoring their hosts, 35-29, in the second half of Saturday’s NSIC battle, the Upper Iowa Men’s Basketball team had a start reminiscent of their last matchup with the Warriors. WSU controlled the first half shooting 54-percent from the floor en route to a 16-point lead at the break. The Peacocks mounted a late comeback, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors held on for a 78-68 victory at home.
Joey Woods led UIU with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, adding 7 rebounds, 3 assists, a block and a steal to his stat line, but the redshirt-senior was the only Peacock to finish in double-figures. Luke Lenhart had 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting, while Kierre Ogbonna, Bo Pagel and Jimmy Roth all added eight. The Peacocks shot just 32-percent from the floor in the game – their second-lowest output of the season.
 The Peacocks will take an extended break for the holiday season before picking the season back up in 2014. UIU will face the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston on January 3rd in Crookston, Minnesota.

WAYNE STATE - Junior backup center Patrick Kurth scored a career-high 10 points off the bench on 5 of 7 shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds in 18 minutes of playing time in Wayne State’s 77-55 loss at Augustana Saturday evening.  The Wildcats held a 31-23 lead at halftime, but the Vikings stormed back in the second half and outscored the Wildcats 54-24 in the second half to pick up the win.  Senior guard Ty Bauschek hauled in a career-high nine rebounds and added 10 points for the Wildcats, who enter the holiday break at 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the NSIC.  Wayne State’s next game is Friday, January 3rd at Minot State.  

WINONA STATE -  Riley Bambenek (G, Fr., 6-5, Trempealeau, Wis. (G-E-T) reached the 20 point mark for the third time in his first 12 games as a Warrior, scoring 21 points and grabbing five rebounds to help lead Winona State to a 78-68 win over Upper Iowa. Bambenek went 6-of-11 from the floor while making a career-best four 3-pointers. He was also a solid 5-of-6 from the free throw line as WSU improved its record to 11-2 overall and 6-0 in NSIC play. The freshman also scored 10 points while grabbing three boards and passing out seven assists in just 22 minutes in WSU’s 90-52 win over Viterbo on Tuesday. He averaged 15.5 points, four rebounds and 4.5 assists on the week. Bambenek has also scored 20 points this season against then-No. 9 Minnesota State (33 pts) and Southwest Minnesota State (20 pts). Bambenek added ten points


Past NSIC Players of the Week
11/11/13    - Casey Schilling - Augie
11/18/13    - Sam Johnson - MISU
11/25/13    - Jordan Poydras - SCSU
12/2/13 -  E.J. Williams - MISU
12/9/13 - Maxie Rosenbloom - BSU
12/16/13    - Casey Schilling - Augie (2)
12/23/13 - Jake Schalow - BSU