For Immediate Release
Monday, Feb. 17, 2014

NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Player of the Week
#1 Brock Lutes
G, 6-4, 215, Jr.,
Portland, Ore.
Newberg HS
Bemidji State

Lutes recorded his third and fourth consecutive game with 30 or more points Feb. 14-15 with 32 and 33 points, respectfully. He finished the weekend averaging 32.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and shot 62.9 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from 3-point land and 86.7 percent from the free throw line. Friday in a home loss to No. 18 Minnesota State, Lutes recorded 32 points and shot 50 percent from the field with four 3-pointers and a 10-for-11 (90.9%) effort from the charity stripe with four assists and three rebounds. Saturday, in a win against Concordia-St. Paul, the junior recorded 33 points on 13-of-17 (76.5%) shooting from the field, a 4-for-7 (57.1%) mark from 3-point land and a 3-for-4 (75%) effort from the free throw line. Lutes leads the NSIC with 21.5 points per game. This marks the third time this season Lutes has been named NSIC Player of the Week (1/13/14 & 2/10/14).

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE -  #34 Daniel Jansen (F, So, 6-9, 230, Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley HS) averaged 24.5 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Vikings split their final regular season home games last weekend. The sophomore recorded his fourth double-double of the season (seventh career) going for 26 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 16 shooting in a 92-88 win over MSU Moorhead. Jansen followed that up with a game-high 23 points against Northern State on Saturday while shooting 6 of 12 from the field, hitting three 3-pointers and dishing out four assists. Jansen has now scored 20 or more points in a game 12 times in his career, including 10 this season.  
Augustana will close-out the 2013-14 regular season on the road next weekend when it travels to Upper Iowa and Winona State. The Vikings open the weekend at Upper Iowa on Friday night at 8 p.m. before ending the regular season with Winona State on Saturday at 6 p.m.

BEMIDJI STATE - #1 Brock Lutes (G, 6-4, 215, Jr., Portland, Ore. / Clackamas CC (Ore.)) recorded his third and fourth consecutive game with 30 or more points Feb. 14-15 with 32 and 33 points, respectfully. He finished the weekend averaging 32.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and shot 62.9 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from 3-point land and 86.7 percent from the free throw line. Friday in a home loss to No. 18 Minnesota State, Lutes recorded 32 points and shot 50 percent from the field with four 3-pointers and a 10-for-11 (90.9%) effort from the charity stripe with four assists and three rebounds. Saturday, in a win against Concordia-St. Paul, the junior recorded 33 points on 13-of-17 (76.5%) shooting from the field, a 4-for-7 (57.1%) mark from 3-point land and a 3-for-4 (75%) effort from the free throw line. Lutes leads the NSIC with 21.5 points per game.
The Beavers went 1-1 in an NSIC home weekend Feb. 14-15 to move to 18-6 overall and 15-5 in NSIC play. BSU lost 79-74 to No. 18 Minnesota State Friday before posting a 90-77 victory against Concordia-St. Paul. The victory secured at least a share of the NSIC North Title, as the Beavers own a two-game lead on St. Cloud State and MSU Moorhead entering the final weekend of regular season play. BSU reached the 18 win mark for the third consecutive season, a milestone never accomplished before in the 92-years of BSU men’s basketball. It is the sixth time in program history a team has hit 18 wins, while only two teams have ever reached 20. The Beavers shot over 50 percent from the field Saturday to mark the 14th time this season and their 52.0 field goal percentage is tops in the NSIC. BSU also leads the league in 3-point percentage (41.7%) and free throw percentage (76.6%). Junior Brock Lutes leads the NSIC in scoring with 21.5 points per game, while senior Maxie Rosenbloom leads the conference in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and field goal percentage (63.2%), while Jake Schalow guides the NSIC in 3-point percentage (56.2%). BSU hits the road for the final weekend of league play Feb. 21-22 at Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. The Beavers downed UMD 90-79 at home earlier this season and have won the last five meetings. All-time, BSU trails the series 43-85. The Beavers also defeated St. Cloud State at home earlier this season, 70-65 when SCSU was receiving votes nationally. BSU is 44-93 all-time against the Huskies, have won two straight, but are 3-7 in the last 10 meetings. Last season in St. Cloud, Minn., Bemidji State fell 68-60 to then-No. 14 St. Cloud State.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - Concordia-St. Paul senior two-sport athlete Cordell Smith (Mequon, Wis.) posted back-to-back career-highs on the road last weekend, matching his previous high with 21 points at Minnesota Crookston on Friday before a 25-point performance on Saturday at Bemidji State. He averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 65.2% (15-23) from the floor, 53.8% (7-13) from three-point range and 90.0% (9-10) at the foul line. Smith also excels on the gridiron as Concordia’s top wide receiver where he’ll have one more year of eligibility next fall.
Junior Terez VanPelt was 9-9 at the stripe over the weekend and has now hit his last 27 free throws, just three shy of matching last year’s personal best mark of 30-straight … he averaged 18.5 points to remain among the league’s scoring leaders (3rd, 18.4 ppg) … this weekend, Concordia closes out the NSIC regular season on the road at SMSU on Friday and at Sioux Falls on Saturday … the Golden Bears are 7-23 all-time against SMSU and on a current six game losing streak against the Mustangs including this year’s loss at home to SMSU on Feb. 8 (52-68) … Concordia’s last win over SMSU was on Dec. 12, 2010 at home (67-66) as part of a three-game win streak against SMSU … under head coach Kelly Boe, Concordia is 4-11 against SMSU with a 1-7 mark at SMSU under Boe … Concordia is 2-13 all-time at SMSU in Marshall, Minn. with the last road win coming on Jan. 16, 2010 (75-71) … Concordia is 3-9 all-time against Sioux Falls, dropping the last three meetings including a loss at home on Feb. 7 (84-97) … under head coach Kelly Boe, Concordia is 1-3 against USF with a win in Nov., 2011 at Gangelhoff Center (99-79) … the other eight meetings in the series history came between 1972 and 1975 when both were members of the NAIA … Concordia is 1-3 all-time against Sioux Falls on the road with the only win coming on Feb. 4, 1972 (67-57).

UNIVERSITY OF MARY -  Junior guard Chris Mason (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored 18 points to lead the University of Mary to an upset 74-65 home win over Southwest Minnesota State University. Mason, who hit all six free throws and knocked down two treys, made four straight free throws in the final 72 seconds to help U-Mary defeat SMSU for just the second time in 11 tries... One night after scoring 14 points, freshman guard Damonta Henry (Chicago, Ill.) hit a three-pointer with six seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime in what became a 79-71 home loss to the University of Sioux Falls. The Marauders scored the only field goal recorded in overtime but the Cougars went 12-of-12 at the free throw line to claim victory. On Senior Night, Marc Musungayi scored a team-high 16 points in his final game at the McDowell Activity Center. Jalen Jaspers added 13 points with three assists and Mike Johnson hit his lone trey attempt in what was also their final game at the MAC... The Marauders defense was tremendous in both games, holding both SMSU and USF to under 40 per cent shooting from the floor.

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON - Brandon Burns (Sr., F, Baton Rouge, La.) averaged 13.5 points on the weekend in a pair of games for the Golden Eagles. He had nine points on 4-of-9 shooting in a loss to Concordia University, St. Paul. Against Minnesota State, Burns had 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including a huge second half performance against the Mavericks. Saturday was Senior Day for the senior forward.  
MINNESOTA DULUTH  - UMD continued to show it could hang tough with the top teams in the NSIC, but suffered a pair of setbacks this weekend. Senior guard Jordan Reetz continued to have the hot hand for the Bulldogs, tossing down 27 points in each of UMD’s games this weekend. On Friday night at Upper Iowa, Reetz was 7-of-15 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free throw line, hauling in six rebounds while also adding four assists and one steal. Saturday night, with UMD dressing just nine players including six freshmen, the Bulldogs needed Reetz to step up in a big way, and he delivered, shooting 56.3 percent. On the weekend, Reetz shot 51.6 percent including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, while also making 16-of-18 free throws. He had 27.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds with six assists and a block.
Junior guard Junior Coleman also had his biggest weekend of the year for UMD, with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting Friday night while also adding a season-high seven rebounds. He followed that up with a career-high 22 points on Saturday night, including four-of-six from beyond the arc. Altogether, he shot 57.5 percent, averaging 21.5 points with eight reboudnds, three assists, and three steals for the Bulldogs.

MINNESOTA STATE - #50 Assem Marei (F, 6-9, 250, Jr., Cairo, Egypt) finished the week as MSU’s leading scorer and rebounder averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. On the week, he shot 17-of-13 (.567) from the field, while posting four a team-high four blocks. Against Bemidji State, Marei tied for the team-high in scoring with 22 points, to go along with 10 rebounds for his 14th career double-double. He followed up with a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds in MSU’s win over Minnesota Crookston. With its two wins this past weekend, MSU improved to 23-4, with a 17-3 record in NSIC action. The Mavericks are currently riding a seven-game winning. This is the second time this season MSU has put together a seven-game winning streak. A total of five Mavericks averaged at least 10.5 points per game last weekend, including junior Assem Marei, who averaged a team-high 19.5 points per game. As a team, Minnesota State shot 50.5% from the field this past weekend and averaged 38 rebounds.

MSU MOORHEAD - Tarell Clark (G, 6-3, Sr., Minneapolis, Minn. / Burnsville HS) had a solid week in helping MSUM to a 1-1 mark on the road. The senior guard averaged 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 80 percent (20-of-25) from the free throw line.  Clark had nine points and nine rebounds in a 92-88 loss to Augustana on Friday but followed with 27 points and 13 rebounds -- his seventh double-double of 2013-14 -- to help the Dragons run past Wayne State, 95-84.  Clark leads the Dragons in scoring (12.3 points per game), rebounding (8.5) and in total steals (30).

MINOT STATE - Minot State allowed its opponents to build leads early in the second half and fell short on comeback attempts, falling 83-72 to the University of Sioux Falls and 75-72 to Southwest Minnesota State. #3 E.J. Williams (G, 6-0, 185, Sr., Raleigh, N.C. / Capitol Hill / Cape Fear Community College) has put together a good senior campaign and led the Beavers with 38 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and two steals on the weekend, including a 5-for-6 performance on 3-pointers against SMSU and a game-high 26 points. #2 Chris East (F, 6-6, 220, Sr., Toronto, Ontario / Mother Teresa / ASA Institute) reached double figures both nights and scored 26 points overall. The senior continued to rebound as well, pulling down 17 combined. The Beavers finish the regular season on the road with games at Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State Friday and Saturday.

NORTHERN STATE - Skye Warwick (So., 6-0, G, Rapid City, S.D.) led the Wolves to a pair of wins this past weekend averaging 17.5 points per game as Northern snapped a four-game losing streak. The three-point specialist shot 9-of-13 (69 percent) over the weekend from long range including hitting a career-high seven in Northern’s 85-78 win over Augustana. Warwick had a game-high 21 points in the win over the Vikings while going 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. Warwick had 14 points including hitting eight free throws in Northern’s 90-59 walloping over Wayne State, the Wolves’ largest margin of victory on the season.

SIOUX FALLS - #22 Charles Ward (G, 6-2, 215, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz. / Western Nebraska CC/Arcadia) scored a career-high 25 points against Minot State, and followed up with a 12-point performance against U-Mary to lead the Cougars (14-10, 11-9 NSIC) to their first-ever NSIC weekend road sweep. On Friday night with the game tied at 11-all, Minot State went on an 8-2 run for a lead it maintained for more than ten minutes before Ward erased the Cougars’ deficit with back-to-back threes that moved USF in front 33-28 with 1:56 to play. He had 14 first half points and added 11 in the second to set a new career-high and it was Ward’s fallaway jumper gave the Cougars their largest lead at 72-54 with just over four minutes on the clock. Minot State went the foul-for-profit tactic in the closing minutes but to no avail, as the Cougars went nine for twelve from the line in the final three minutes—paced by Ward’s 6-for-8 effort in than span— to close out the win. The rims were unfriendly to Ward on the following night in Bismarck, as they denied him everything except for shots made exactly 15 feet from the basket. Ward went 0-for-9 from the floor, but displayed perfection at the stripe, going 12-for-12 during USF’s 79-71 overtime, Senior Day spoiling win on the Marauders’ home court. Ward had just four points at the half (4-4 FT) but maintained his poise to be the highest-performing Cougar in the overtime period. He accounted for USF’s final six points by going 6-for-6 at the stripe in the final forty seconds to ice the Cougar win for the second night in a row. Ward added six rebounds and three assists in the two contests. He leads the Cougars with a 12.9 points per game average (21st in NSIC) and stands second on the team with a 5.0 rebounding average. Ward has toed the free throw line more than 30 times more than any other Cougar player, and owns a 75.9% clip (104-137) heading into the final weekend of the regular season.  

SMSU - Senior forward William Giddings (6-5, Blaine, Minn.) averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, shot 66.7 percent (8 of 12) from the field, including 85.7 percent (6 of 7) from 3-point range in SMSU’s two-name road split last weekend. In Saturday night’s 75-72 win at Minot State, Giddings scored the final five points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to give SMSU the victory. SMSU led by 19 points in the second half only to see MISU rally to take the lead with just over a minute left.  Giddings finished the game shooting 5 of 8 from the field, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range and was 7 of 7 from the free throw line to finish with a team-high 20 points. In SMSU’s loss to U-Mary on Friday, Giddings scored nine points on 3 of 4 shooting with three 3-pointers.

ST. CLOUD STATE - St. Cloud State went on the road and came home with a split, falling to Winona State 89-68 and defeating Upper Iowa in a come from behind win, 97-94. The Huskies overcame a 19-point first half deficit, trailing 50-42 at halftime and took an 80-77 lead 12 minutes into the second half. Damarius Cruz (Sr., G, Plymouth, Minn.) scored a career high 28 points in the Huskies win at Upper Iowa. He made four-of-seven three-point baskets and was ten-of-16 at the free throw line, had three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. He scored eight points in the final eight minutes of the game. Cruz finished the weekend with 40 points, shot 63.6 percent from the field and was seven-of-12 from three-point range for a 58.3 percent average, and made four-of-seven against Upper Iowa. He has scored in double figures in eight straight games and 18 this season, and has made 21 three-point baskets over the last five games. Matt Craggs (Sr., F, Kimberly, WIs.) accounted for 38 points, including 25 against Upper Iowa, and 13 rebounds. He shot 64.3 (9-14) percent from the field against the Peacocks. James Fort (Jr., C, South Haven, MInn.) had a solid weekend as he scored 13 points and five rebounds against Winona and 12 points and eight rebounds against UIU. He was ten of 13 (.769) from the field and had four blocked shots. His eight rebounds and three blocks against UIU equaled his season highs. Seth Mortag (RFr, F, Brookfield, WIs.) made his first start of the season against Upper Iowa on Sataurday after scoring a season high nine points against Winona State, making six-of-seven free throw attempts. The Huskies blocked a season game high nine blocks against the Peacocks. St. Cloud State will host Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State in the final home weekend of the regular season. The Huskies will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday. In addition, there will be a post-game recognition followed by a reception to celebrate the career of head coach Kevin Schlagel who is retiring at the end of the school year.
 
UPPER IOWA - The Upper Iowa men’s basketball team nearly posted its third weekend sweep in a row this past Friday and Saturday against Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. The team had to fight tooth and nail with the visiting Bulldogs to pull out a victory on Friday night inside Dorman Gym as the squads exchanged the lead 13 times and were tied 10 different times. Eventually, the home team came out on top, 87-85, as UIU extended its win streak to five games. Joey Woods led UIU in scoring that night and for the 13th time this season as the redshirt-senior hit 7 of his 12 attempts for 23 points. Against SCSU on Saturday, the Peacocks owned a 19-point lead midway through the first half, but watched the Huskies chip away at that deficit and earn a 97-94 comeback victory as a buzzer-beating, game-tying 3-point attempt rimmed out for UIU. Overall, the Peacock offense was led by Bo Pagel who averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and a steal in the two contests. UIU, which shot 49-percent from the floor and 42-percent from deep, boasted six double-digit scorers including Pagel, Woods, Jimmy Roth, Josh Weeber, Grant Lang and David Smith. The team averaged 90.5 points per game at home, but the loss on Saturday ended the team’s win streak. UIU will try to start a new one this next weekend as they host Augustana on Friday and Wayne State on Saturday.

WAYNE STATE - Senior center Jared Bartling (Sioux Falls Roosevelt HS) averaged 15 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in two home Wildcat losses over the weekend against Northern State and MSU Moorhead.  Bartling accounted for a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double in four games during Saturday’s 95-84 setback against MSU Moorhead.  Bartling was 6 for 9 from the field and 12 of 14 at the charity stripe in his final home game at Rice Auditorium.  Wayne State’s four seniors scored 62 of the team’s 84 points.  For the weekend, Bartling shot 57.1 percent (8-14) from the field and 77.8 percent (14-18) at the charity stripe.
 
WINONA STATE -  Isaiah Gray, Fr., G, 6-0, Golden Valley, Minn. (Benilde-St. Margaret’s) had a strong weekend for Winona State, averaging 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while leading the team to victories over St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. Gray shot 60 percent (12-of-20) from the floor on the weekend while also knocking down both of his 3-point attempts. The freshman also handed out three assists and grabbed two steals for the Warriors. Gray scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in WSU’s win over St. Cloud State Friday before adding 16 points and five boards against Minnesota Duluth.

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
1/6/14 -     Kellen Taylor - WSU
1/13/14 - Brock Lutes - BSU
1/20/14 - Marc Musungayi - U-Mary
1/27/14 - Matt Craggs - SCSU
2/3/14 - Joey Woods - UIU
2/10/14 - Brock Lutes - BSU (2)
2/17/14 - Brock Lutes - BSU (3)