For Immediate Release
Monday, Dec. 9, 2013

NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Player of the Week
#4 Maxie Rosenbloom
F, 6-6, 210, Sr.,
St. Paul, Minn.
Johnson HS
Bemidji State

Rosenbloom recorded the first 20-point, 20-rebound performance in program history Friday in a 70-65 victory against St. Cloud State, as he totaled a career-high 21 points and added a program record 24 rebounds. He shot 6-for-10 (60%) from the field, 1-of-1 from 3-point land and was 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the free throw line. He also added two blocks and a steal. The senior had 13 points and 15 rebounds at halftime versus the Huskies. Rosenbloom followed his third double-double of the season with his fourth Saturday in a 90-79 victory against Minnesota Duluth with 15 points and 11 rebounds. During the 2-0 NSIC home weekend, Rosenbloom averaged 18.0 points and 17.5 rebounds per game, shot 66.7 percent from the field, made his only 3-point attempt and went 19-for-25 (76%) from the free throw line. He added three blocks, two steals and two assists, while only turning the ball over four times in 32.5 minutes per game. Rosenbloom’s 11.4 rebounds per game ranks first in the NSIC this season, while his 64.3 field goal percentage is second.
In NSIC games since 1998-99, only five players have recorded 20 or more rebounds in a game, while just two players have totaled more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in a contest (both did so in at least one overtime). In that same time span, no one has recorded more than 22 rebounds in either league or nonconference play. The NSIC record for rebounds is 32, set in 1975.

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE - #34 Daniel Jansen (F, 6-9, 230, So., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley HS) averaged 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 60 percent (15 of 25) from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Jansen registered his third 20-point performance of the season against Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds. On Saturday, Jansen picked up 19 points to go along with four rebounds while going 6 of 9 from the field, hitting 3 of 3 from 3-point range and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
#32 Casey Schilling (F, 6-6, 190, So., Ellsworth, Minn./Ellsworth HS) averaged a double-double on the weekend, 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds, to go along with nine assists, three blocks and three steals. Schilling recorded his second double-double of the season at USF on Saturday finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds while hitting a career-high 10 free throws on 12 attempts. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds at SMSU on Friday night hitting 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range. Schilling finished the weekend shooting 71 percent (5 of 7) from 3-point range and 71 percent from the free throw line (10 of 14).

BEMIDJI STATE - #4 Maxie Rosenbloom (F, 6-6, 210, Sr., St. Paul, Minn. / Johnson HS) recorded the first 20-point, 20-rebound performance in program history Friday in a 70-65 victory against St. Cloud State (receiving votes nationally), as he totaled a career-high 21 points and added a program record 24 rebounds. He shot 6-for-10 (60%) from the field, 1-of-1 from 3-point land and was 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the free throw line. He also added two blocks and a steal. The senior had 13 points and 15 rebounds at halftime versus the Huskies. Rosenbloom followed his third double-double of the season with his fourth Saturday in a 90-79 victory against Minnesota Duluth with 15 points and 11 rebounds. During the 2-0 NSIC home weekend, Rosenbloom averaged 18.0 points and 17.5 rebounds per game, shot 66.7 percent from the field, made his only 3-point attempt and went 19-for-25 (76%) from the free throw line. He added three blocks, two steals and two assists, while only turning the ball over four times in 32.5 minutes per game. Rosenbloom’s 11.4 rebounds per game ranks first in the NSIC this season, while his 64.3 field goal percentage is second.
In NSIC games since 1998-99 (does not include 2004-05), only five players have recorded 20 or more rebounds in a game, while just two players have totaled more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in a contest (both did so in at least one overtime). In that same time span, no one has recorded more than 22 rebounds in either league or nonconference play. The NSIC record for rebounds is 32, set in 1975.
The Bemidji State men’s basketball team went 2-0 in an NSIC home weekend Dec. 6-7 to improve to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in NSIC play. The last time BSU opened conference play with a 3-0 record was 2004-05, while the 6-1 start is the best record in the first seven games of the season since the 1973-74 team opened its campaign 8-0. The Beavers will hit the road Dec. 13-14, as it travels to Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - Junior point guard Terez VanPelt led the Golden Bears over the weekend by averaging 25.0 points per game on 56.7% (17-30) shooting and 87.5% (14-16) free throw shooting while also hitting two-of-three from downtown … junior Travon Mitchell  was excellent off the bench, averaging 18.5 points in 29.0 points while making seven three-pointers to spark the offense … the Golden Bears dropped two games by a total of three points, however, falling 71-69 in the closing seconds against Winona State on Friday before losing by one, 88-87 on Saturday to Upper Iowa at Gangelhoff Center … the Golden Bears hit the road for the first time in NSIC play this weekend at Augustana on Friday and at Wayne State on Saturday … Concordia is 5-10 all-time against Friday’s opponent, Augustana and just 1-5 against the Vikings at Elmen Center on the road … the Vikings have won the last three meetings in the series and the last four played at Elmen Center … Concordia’s last & only win at Elmen Center was an 89-84 overtime win on December 28, 2004 … the Golden Bears are 2-6 against the Vikings in NSIC games since Augie joined the league in 2008-09 … Concordia and Wayne State enter the 30th meeting between the programs on Saturday with Concordia leading the series 15-14 and coming off a win last January (74-65) at Gangelhoff Center that snapped a four game skid against the Wildcats … Concordia is 5-9 at Rice Auditorium against WSC, dropping the last two meetings played there … Concordia’s last win at WSC was January 3, 2011 (64-51) which gave Concordia four straight wins in the building at the time.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY -  Chris Mason (G-F, 6-5, 200, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz. / St. Mary’s HS / Phoenix College) led the University of Mary in scoring both games over the weekend. The junior wing player averaged 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 55 per cent from the floor while making 11-of-13 free throws. He was 3-for-5 in each game on three pointers. In a loss to MSU Moorhead, Mason scored 17 points, hitting 3-of-5 trey attempts and going 8-of-9 at the line. The native of Phoenix, Ariz., also had eight rebounds. Mason then scored a career-high 22 points against Northern State, making 8-of-14 overall and 3-of-5 behind the line, and pulled down another eight rebounds. For the season Mason is averaging 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and shooting 45.5 per cent on three pointers... Three other Marauders also reached double figures in points both nights. Devan Douglas had 12 points against both MSUM and NSU. Marc Musungayi dropped 13 on the Dragons and 12 on the Wolves. Damonta Henry fired in 16 against MSU Moorhead and 12 against the Northern State.

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON  - Ashton Harrell (Sr., G, Houston, Texas) - Harrell tallied a career-high 34 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field against Minnesota Duluth in a 87-85 win over the Bulldogs. Harrell was unblemished from downtown on the night, hitting 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. He was also perfect from the charity stripe connecting on 12-of-12 free throw shots. Harrell added three rebounds. Harrell would finish the week averaging 22 points and 3.5 rebounds on the weekend. He added 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting with five rebounds against St. Cloud State in a loss.
The Golden Eagles will hit the road for the first time this season in conference play as they head to Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. UMC will round out the 2013 portion of the NSIC schedule with three road contests before Christmas. The Golden Eagles are 4-3 (1-2 NSIC) entering play this weekend.

MINNESOTA DULUTH  - The Bulldogs suffered a pair of setbacks over the weekend as the team continues to search for an identity with several top players currently sidelined. Still, UMD averaged 82.0 points per game up from an average of 70.1 PPG on the season. Junior Reece Zoelle continued to have strong play, averaging 24.5 points per game as well as 7.0 rebounds on the weekend.
POW: Senior guard Jordan Reetz led the Bulldogs offensively, posting a pair of big games, averaging 30.1 points per game including 35 on Friday night as UMD nearly made a comeback in the closing minutes vs. Minnesota-Crookston. Reetz shot 58.1 percent, including 47.1 percent from beyond the three-point line. Reetz added a pair of steals and a pair of assists.

MINNESOTA STATE - #50 Assem Marei (F, 6-9, 250, Jr., Cairo, Egypt) led the Mavericks in scoring and rebounding this past weekend as he averaged 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in MSU’s two games. He posted his eighth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Upper Iowa and followed with his ninth career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Winona State. He also connected on 11-of-23 (.478) shots from the field and went 7-of-10 (.700) from the free throw line.
Minnesota State posted a 1-1 record this past weekend, including a 95-56 win over Upper Iowa and a 78-75 loss to Winona State.
Five Mavericks averaged at least 10.5 points per game this last week, including junior Assem Marei, who led the team with 14.5 points per game. Junior Assem Marei led the Mavericks with 10.5 rebounds per game last week, while senior Connor O’Brien averaged seven rebounds per game. As a team, MSU shot 47% from the field and 70% from the free throw line this past week and averaged 46 rebounds per game.

MSU MOORHEAD - Jordan Riewer (G, 6-1, Jr., Staples, Minn. / Staples-Motley HS) had a solid week in helping the Dragons to a 2-0 mark on the road. Riewer averaged 14.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals for the Dragons for the week. In an 83-73 win at Mary on Friday, Riewer had a season-high 19 points along with four rebounds. He was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line in the game. A night later, he had nine points, three assists and two steals in a 78-67 win over Minot State. Riewer hit 12-of-13 free throws for the week (92.3 percent) and shot 50 percent from the field (7-of-14). Riewer is third on the team at 10.1 points per game and also leads with 25 assists.
Additional note: The Dragons’ 7-0 start is their second in Head Coach Chad Walthall’s four-year tenure. In 2011-12, MSUM started the season 11-0 and wound up qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

MINOT STATE - Minot State University fell from the ranks of the unbeaten as the Beavers dropped a pair of NSIC home games this weekend, falling 88-84 to Northern State Friday and 78-67 to MSU Moorhead Saturday. If the weekend was any indication, long games due to fouls will be the norm as the Beavers and their weekend opponents were whistled for 108 fouls including a combined 59 in a slugfest Friday against NSU. Free throws were key in the weekend as NSU made 11 of 12 in the final 1:31. Minot State was 41 of 49 in the NSU game, but struggled a bit against Moorhead, hitting just 15 of 27. The MSU-M game marked the first time all season the Beavers were outscored at the line and the first time Minot State was outrebounded in the game as the Dragons held a 44-40 advantage. #3 E.J. Williams (G, 6-0, 190, Sr., Raleigh, N.C. / Capitol Hill / Cape Fear Community College) combined for 40 points and nine assists on the weekend, while #0 Samuel Johnson (F, 6-6, 200, Sr., Las Vegas, Nev. / Legacy / Montana State-Billings) hit for 29 points and added 15 rebounds in the losses. Minot State takes to the road for the first time after seven straight at the Dome, traveling to St. Cloud State Friday and Minnesota Duluth Saturday.

NORTHERN STATE - Tydan Storrusten (Jr., Pelican Rapids, Minn., Pelican Rapids HS) led the Wolves to a pair of wins this past weekend in North Dakota over Minot State and U-Mary. Storrusten led Northern averaging 14.5 points per game over the weekend. He also averaged three rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the two wins. Storrusten, who is playing for the first time in nearly two seasons after returning from two torn ACLs, shot 50 percent from the floor and was 16-for-19 from the free-throw line (84 percent).

SIOUX FALLS - The University of Sioux Falls men’s basketball team (5-2, 2-1 NSIC) gave fans a little bit of everything over the course of this past weekend. Cautious optimism, abounding excitement, crushing disappointment, breathtaking plays (see Mahlon Jones’ personal 10-point run versus Augustana) and plays so bad you just can’t seem to figure them out. The Cougars opened the weekend with a solid win against Wayne State that saw junior Charles Ward score a career-high 23 points to pace a quartet of Cougars in double-digits. Ward (8-for-9 from the field) simply outhustled and out-toughed the Wildcats under the basket, while the Cougars shot 51 percent as a team and 40.9 percent from behind the 3-point arc. They followed that performance with a disappointing 96-77 loss to rival Augustana College, which was a simple case of the Vikings wanting the win more. Augustana (5-4, 2-1 NSIC) only trailed twice, led by as many as 14 points in the first half and enjoyed a 20-point lead in the second. The Vikings shot 55 percent (61 from three), with 12 assists on a combined 39 field goals. Though Cougar freshman Mack Johnson responded to the Vikings’ torrid shooting with a career-high 21 points (including five three-pointers), the Cougars (5-2, 2-1) couldn’t stop the Vikings’ three-headed mast of Casey Schilling (22 points), Matt Brazendale (20) and Daniel Jensen (19), who made the necessary plays down the stretch. Mahlon Jones showed off his athleticism and netted four straight points with a fadeaway and acrobatic layup in traffic that trimmed the Vikings’ lead to 51-45 at the half. But everything went right for Augustana, which had just six turnovers and made 65-plus percent of its shots in the first half, including a stellar 7-for-10 from beyond the arc. The Cougars fought back to get into the game, led by Jones, who scored their first 10 points of the second half, but the same problems for Coach Johnson’s program in its first six games stayed with them until the final buzzer. USF couldn’t get enough stops — whether it was man-to-man or zone — to mount a comeback. Jones got the Cougars within five at 58-53, but the Vikings countered with a pair of 5-0 runs and USF never got within 10 points in the game’s final 10 minutes. The Cougars open up a three-game road trip next Friday night at Winona State.

SMSU - Senior point guard Vinard Birch (5-11, 190, Eagan, Minn.) led SMSU to a pair of home victories last weekend, including hitting the game-winning shot to defeat Augustana and help the Mustangs improve to 2-1 in conference play and 4-4 overall. Birch averaged 13.5 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and committed just one turnover in 55 minutes in the two victories. He shot 62.5 percent (10 of 16) from the field and was a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line. In Friday’s win over Augustana, Birch scored SMSU’s final five points in the final 51 seconds, including hitting a jumper with 11 seconds remaining to give SMSU an 85-84 win. He scored 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting with four assists and three rebounds. In SMSU’s 80-61 victory over Wayne State on Saturday, Birch scored nine points in 24 minutes on 2 of 4 shooting. Birch leads the team with 26 assists this season and now ranks fourth in program history with 295 career assists.

ST. CLOUD STATE - St. Cloud State went on the road for the first time in the NSIC and came home with a split. The Huskies, 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the NSIC, lost at Bemidji State, 70-65 and rebounded on Saturday with an 87-50 win at Minnesota Crookston.  Kevin Levandoski (Jr., G, Appleton, Wis.) scored a season high 21 points at Bemidji State. Scott Stone (Fr., G, Melrose, Minn.) scored in double figures in both games as he tallied ten points against Bemidji State and a season high 13 points at UMC.  Stone has scored in double figures in four of the Huskies last five games. James Fort (Jr., C, South Haven, Minn.) scored a team high 18 points and a team high eight rebounds in the win over UMC. St. Cloud State will host Minot State and Mary on Friday and Saturday.  The Huskies are3-1 all-time against Minot State and are 7-6 all-time against Mary.
 
UPPER IOWA - Joey Woods (G, 6-2, 210, R-Sr., Naples, Fla./Golden Gate HS) averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3.5 steals this past weekend for UIU as the team earned a split on the road against Minnesota State and Concordia. After dropping their matchup with MSU on Friday night in the Taylor Center, the Peacocks bounced back a night later to pick up their first win in conference play in St. Paul, Minnesota as four players finished in double-figures. Woods hit 60-percent of his shots (6-for-10) for 18 points, while Grant Lang (G, 6-4, 195, Jr. Ankeny, Iowa/Akeny HS) scored a team-high 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting. The Peacocks outscored the Golden Bears by five in the second half to post the comeback victory, but it came down to the final minute. UIU hit ten straight free throws in the last minute of regulation to steal the 88-87 victory in the Gangelhoff Center. Upper Iowa will return to Dorman Gym next weekend to host Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m. and the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m. The Peacocks are just 2-12 against the Mustangs, but they hold a 2-1 record against the Cougars.

WAYNE STATE - Adol Aluong, a 6-1 senior guard from Sioux Falls, S.D. (Roosevelt HS), led Wayne State during the weekend averaging 16.0 points per game in a pair of NSIC road losses at Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.  Aluong accounted for a career-high 23 points Friday night in an 85-75 loss at Sioux Falls, going 8 for 11 from the field and 6 of 9 at the free throw stripe.  
For the weekend, Aluong was 10 of 17 (58.8%) from the field and 11 of 16 (68.8%) from the foul line.  

WINONA STATE -  Riley Bambenek, Fr., G, 6-5, 200, Trempealeau, Wis. (G-E-T), playing his first career game against a ranked opponent, scored 33 points while also grabbing nine rebounds and handing out two assists to lead the Warriors to a 78-75 win over No. 9 Minnesota State on Saturday. Bambenek hit 12 of his 19 field goal attempts, including three from behind the 3-point line. The freshman averaged 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds on the weekend as the Warriors won a pair of games on the road. He added 10 points, two rebounds and two assists to help push WSU past Concordia-St. Paul on Friday. Bambenek shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the floor and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from behind the 3-point line in the two games. He also knocked down 8 of 11 (72.7 percent) of his free throw attempts. Bambenek chipped in six assists and a steal in the pair of Warrior wins.

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