For Immediate Release
Monday, January 16, 2017
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet (PDF)



NSIC Men's Basketball Players of the Week

NSIC North Division Player of the Week
#14 Aaron Lien (G, 6-4, Sr., Moorhead, Minn. / Moorhead HS)
MSU Moorhead
- Averaged 28.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game
- Shot 72 percent from the field (18-of-25) including 75 percent (6-of-8) from three-point range
- Hit 14-of-16 free throw attempts
- Had 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting in a 91-89 double-overtime win at Augustana
- Had 32 points on 9-of-11 shooting in a 95-87 win at Wayne State
- Named NSIC Players of the Week for the second time this season (11/28/16)

NSIC South Division Player of the Week
#11 Zach Wessels (G, 6-2, 182, Jr., Austin, Minn. / Austin HS)
Sioux Falls
- Averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds in two road wins
- Shot 66.7 percent from the field and added five steals
- Scored 20 points with a career best 10 assists and six boards in 78-71 win at Bemidji State
- Recorded first career double double
- Only player in the NSIC this season with 20 points and 10 assists in a single game
- Followed up with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in 69-60 win at Minnesota Crookston
- Becomes the first USF player in the D2 era (since 2011) to record at least nine assists in back-to-back games    
 

Augustana University Vikings

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 91-89 vs MSUM 2OT W 80-66 vs. NSU	13-5, 8-4 NSIC	W1	2nd Overall, 2nd South
Team Notes
- Augustana split a pair of home games last weekend falling 91-89 in a double overtime thriller to MSU Moorhead Friday night before picking up an 80-66 win over Northern State Saturday - MSU Moorhead’s Ayob Ayob scored with 2.4 seconds left in the second overtime to help the Dragons escape with a win at the Sioux Falls Arena - Friday night’s game between the Vikings and Dragons saw 19 tie scores and 18 lead changes - Both teams had a shot to win the game in regulation and the Dragons took a five-point lead in the first overtime but the two teams continued to battle it out - MSUM scored with four seconds left in the first overtime to take a 78-76 lead but Adam Beyer took the ball coast-to-coast and scored before the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime - The Vikings tied the game at 89 in the second overtime before Ayob hit the game-winner with 2.4 seconds left - On Saturday night, Augustana shot 61.5 percent in the second half and cruised to an 80-66 win over Northern State in front of 3,576 fans at the Sioux Falls Arena - The win snapped a three-game home losing skid for the Vikings - Mike Busack led the Vikings with 23 points and nine rebounds picking up his third 20-point performance of the season - Augustana forced 19 turnovers and scored 23 points off of them and dominated down low, scoring 40 points in the paint
Top Performer(s)
- Marcus Asmus had a career night on Friday for the Vikings finishing with a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double - Asmus finished 11 of 16 from the field grabbed seven offensive boards - Mike Busack averaged 20 points and 7 rebounds on the weekend - Adam Beyer averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 72.2 percent from the field - Beyer registered his first career double-double on Friday night finishing with 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds - Jordan Spencer averaged 9.0 points, 10.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds on the weekend
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 at Upper Iowa  - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at Winona State - 6 p.m.

 

Bemidji State University Beavers

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 77-75 vs UMC L 78-71 vs USF W 96-86 vs SMSU	6-11, 4-8 North	W1	14th Overall, 7th North
Team Notes
- Bemidji State went 2-1 in its last week of action with wins against Minnesota Crookston and Southwest Minnesota State - BSU held off a late surge by UMC to finish the season series with a split - The Beavers shot 50.0 percent from the field while freshman Lucas Wendt scored a career-high 20 points against the Golden Eagles - BSU again shot 50.0 percent from the floor but gave up a second-half lead to USF - Bemidji State overcame a 48-42 halftime deficit to Southwest Minnesota State behind 15 second-half points from freshman guard Jai’Vionne Green - BSU shot at least 50.0 percent from the field for the fourth consecutive game and scored at least 50 second-half points for the third time in its last six games
Top Performer(s)
- Freshman Jai’Vionne Green led BSU in scoring over the three-game stretch with 18.7 points, including a career-high 25 points against Southwest Minnesota State - Senior forward Ben Best averaged 17.3 points per game while shooting 57.9 percent from the floor - Junior guard Sharif Black averaged 14.5 points and 2.0 assists per game against UMC and USF
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 at Minot State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at U-Mary – 6 p.m.

 

Concordia University, St. Paul Golden Bears

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 56-76 at MSU L 75-87 vs MARY L 70-74 vs MINOT	4-15, 1-11 NSIC	L9	11th Overall, 7th South
Team Notes
- Minnesota State dominated down low with a 38-22 advantage in points in the paint as CSP fell 76-56 in Mankato -On Friday, the Golden Bears shot 51.7% (31-60) but saw the Marauders hold a 27-12 advantage in points off of turnovers in an 87-75 loss -CSP led in most statistical categories on Saturday but Minot State found the decisive edge with a 12-4 edge in threes made in a 74-70 loss for the Golden Bears -Concordia held a 107-95 advantage on the glass on the week as they also held a 30-19 edge in offensive rebounds
Top Performer(s)
- Bryndan Matthews led the team with 14.7 points, 8.0 boards and 2.0 steals while knocking down 54.5% (18-33) from the floor - Diallo Powell averaged 12.3 points on 51.9% (14-27) shooting off the bench in CSP’s two games, scoring at least 15 points in two of the three games
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 at Southwest Minnesota State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at Sioux Falls – 6 p.m.

University of Mary Marauders

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 87-75 at CSP W 75-61 at MSU	7-11, 5-7 NSIC	W2	10th Overall,4th North
Team Notes
- Snapped 6-game losing streak with a weekend sweep of Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State - Moved into sole possession of 4th place in the NSIC North - Win at Minnesota State was the first for Mary at the Taylor Center - Marauders have won two straight against both CSP and MSU after defeating both the Golden Bears and the Mavericks in the NSIC tournament last spring - After playing 5-of-7 games on the road Mary begins a stretch of playing four of their next six at home
Top Performer(s)
- Sr. G Damonta Henry returned to form last weekend, averaging 16.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG. He was 10-of-21 overall, 6-of-8 on treys and 7-of-11 on free throws - He came off the bench to score 18 points with three assists and six rebounds in a win at CSP. He made all four 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the Minnesota State win - Sr. F Rickey Suggs made 8-of-14 shots at Concordia-St. Paul for a career-high 19 points and added 12 points at Minnesota State. He made 59.1 percent of his shots on the weekend - Three other Marauders averaged double digits for the weekend - Sr. G Pat Thomas (10.5), Sr. F Bryan Jefferson (10.5) and Sr. F Isaac Lindquist (11.5)
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs. Bemidji State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs Minnesota Crookston - 6 p.m.

University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 77-75 at BSU L 77-74 vs SMSU L 69-60 vs USF	6-12, 2-10 NSIC	L3	16th Overall, 8th North
Team Notes
- The Golden Eagles had two games that they lost on the final possession in Bemidji State and Southwest Minnesota State - The Golden Eagles had a last second shot to knot it up against BSU from Harrison Cleary that would go errant. Against SMSU, Cleary had a chance to knot the game up on take the lead for UMC with 12 seconds left, but he would miss the front-end of a one-and-one - The Golden Eagles have lost three games on the final possession this year. They have won two games on the final possession - Minnesota Crookston's Gable Smith came one block shy of tying his school record of seven blocks. He had six against Sioux Falls - Smith leads the NSIC this season with 49 blocks. He is eighth in the nation for blocked shots per game and fifth for total blocks  - The Golden Eagles shot 46.8 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc against Bemidji State - UMC shot 43.6 percent from the field and 52.0 percent from beyond the arc as they gave a run to NSIC South co-leader SMSU - The Golden Eagles shot 41.4 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc against Sioux Falls
Top Performer(s)
- Harrison Cleary averaged 17.0 points per game for the Golden Eagles on the week - He shot 47.7 percent from beyond the arc and 88.9 percent from the charity stripe. His only miss from the charity stripe came against Southwest Minnesota State - Chase Knickerbocker averaged 15.0 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles on the week. He shot 50.0 percent from beyond the arc - Gable Smith had 11 blocked shots on the week
Up Next
Fri., Jan. 13 at Minot State - 8 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 at UMary - 6 p.m.

 

University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 78-70 vs. WSU OT L 85-78 vs. UIU	4-13, 3-8 North	L3	12th Overall, 6th North
Team Notes
- UMD took Winona State into overtime before eventually falling by eight points. The Bulldogs have been involved in two overtime games in NSIC play - The Bulldogs held a two point lead over the Warriors with seconds to play before a buzzer-beating layup by WSU forced overtime - UMD also held a late lead against Upper Iowa, gaining a one point edge with just over three minutes to play - The Bulldogs knocked down 12 three-pointers against UIU while shooting 42.9 percent
Top Performer(s)
- Jake Wilson averaged 14.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, including scoring 17 against Upper Iowa - Cody Tomlinson notched a career-high 19 points in the loss to the Peacocks - Logan Rohrscheib picked up 18 points due in part to five three-pointers against Winona State - Charles Benson scored a season-high 12 points against WSU while adding seven boards
Up Next
Tuesday, Jan. 17 at St. Cloud State – 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 vs. MSU Moorhead – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs. Northern State – 6 p.m.

Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	2016-17 Standings
W 76-56 vs. CSP W 81-66 vs. MISU L 75-61 vs. U-Mary	12-6 (7-5 NSIC)	L1	1st Overall, 1st South
Team Notes
- The Mavericks went 2-1 this past week at home as they defeated Concordia-St. Paul (76-56) and Minot State (W, 81-66), before falling to the University of Mary (75-61) - MSU has won seven of its last nine games - Minnesota State averaged 72.7 points per game last week, while holding its opponents to 65.7 points a game - The Mavericks shot 47.5% from the field last week - MSU outrebounded its opponents 37.0-33.3 last week
Top Performers
Senior Jon Fuqua – 21.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.3 apg, 60.5 FG%, 85.7 FT% Sophomore Joey Witthus – 15.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3,0 apg, 47.2 FG% Freshman Cameron Kirksey – 10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 48.0 FG%
Next Week
Friday, Jan. 20 at Sioux Falls – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at Southwest Minnesota State – 7 p.m.

 

Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 91-89 vs. Augie 2OT W 95-87 at WSC	15-3, 10-2 NSIC	W5	3rd Overall, 1st North
Team Notes
- Dragons went 2-0 on the road last week to cap off four-game road stretch where team went 4-0 - MSUM outlasted Augustana 91-89 in double overtime on Friday as Ayob Ayob hit the game-winning basket in the final seconds - Dragons rallied from an 8-point second half deficit to beat Wayne State on Saturday 95-87 - MSUM now alone in first place in NSIC with a 10-2 record, a half-game ahead of St. Cloud State - MSUM shot 53.8 percent from the field for the week including 43.8 percent from three-point range -- Dragons have won five in a row, including four straight on the road
Top Performer(s)
- Senior F Aaron Lien averaged 28.0 points and 5.5 rebounds for the week while shooting 72 percent from the field - Senior F Ayob Ayob averaged 21 points a game for the week and hit the gamewinner against Augustana; he also averaged 5.5 rebounds per game. - Junior G Tanner Kretchman averaged 19.5 points per game for the week while also dishing out six assists - Sophomore F Addison Park averaged 5.5 rebounds for the week
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs. Minnesota Duluth - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs. St. Cloud State - 6 p.m.

 Minot State University B

Minot State University Beavers

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Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 66-81 at MSU W 74-70 at CSP	8-10, 4-8 North	W1	T12th Overall, 5th North
Team Notes
-Minot State split a pair of NSIC road games, falling 81-66 at Minnesota State Friday before rebounding for a 74-70 win at Concordia-St. Paul -Led 34-33 at halftime at MSU, but was outscored 48-32 in the second half -Also led 34-33 at CSP, but outscored the Golden Bears 40-37 in the second -Hit 12 3-pointers against CSP – the second highest total on the season – making nearly half of the Beavers 26 total field goals from beyond the arc
Top Performer(s)
- Tyler Rudolph added another double-double to his resume, scoring 17 points and adding 11 rebounds in Friday’s loss, finishing with 51 points and 20 rebounds on the weekend - Nathan Mertens averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds on the weekend, dishing out seven assists in Saturday’s win - Russ Davis knocked down 8 of 13 shots from the field – all 3-pointers – including six against CSP for an 18 point night, giving him a team-leading 51 triples on the season - Luis Ricci Maia struggled to score most of the weekend, but hit two key 3-pointers against CSP, knocking down a long 3 at the halftime buzzer and then another with less than a minute to score 10
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs. Bemidji State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs. Minnesota Crookston – 6 p.m.

Northern State University Wolves

Last Week – 1-1	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 76-66 at WSC L 80-66 at Augie	12-6, 6-2 North	L1	7th Overall, 3rd North
Team Notes
-  The Northern State men’s basketball team went 1-1 over the weekend with a win over Wayne State and a loss to Augustana - The Wolves shot 48.9% from the floor, 41.2% from the arc, and 78.1% from the foul line versus the Wildcats - NSU led a majority of the game versus WSC and out-rebounded the Wildcats 43-32 - Northern struggled against the Vikings shooting a season low 34.4% from the floor, 28.0% from the arc, while scoring a season low 66 points - The Wolves also gave up 23 points off 19 turnovers in the loss
Top Performer(s)
- Logan Doyle notched his sixth double-double of the season versus Wayne State with 23 points and 12 rebounds - DJ Pollard stepped in as the starting point guard after an injury to Ian Smith and led the team over the weekend with 32 points - He shot 15-of-18 from the foul line and added 13 rebounds - Gabe King made his first two starts of the year, tallying 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs. St. Cloud State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan 21 vs. Minnesota Duluth – 6 p.m.

University of Sioux Falls Cougars

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 78-71 at BSU W 69-60 at UMC	12-8, 8-4 NSIC	W6	6th Overall, 3rd South
Team Notes
- With a weekend road sweep of Bemidji State (78-71) and Minnesota Crookston (69-60), the Cougars have won 7-of-8 games and moved into a tie for third in the NSIC South - USF is tied for fifth overall in the NSIC standings -USF has won six straight games, all in NSIC play, for the first time in the program’s D2 history - USF have the longest current winning streak among NSIC teams - It is the Cougars’ longest winning streak since a nine-game victory string in 2011-12 (Dec. 30, 2011 to Jan. 28, 2012) - The Cougars, which improved its road mark in the NSIC to 5-2, held its ninth opponent this year to 60 points or fewer
Top Performer(s)
- Zach Wessels had a big weekend for USF, averaging 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists in the two wins - Against Bemidji State, he scored 20 points for the second time in his career and also had a career best with nine assists - He flirted with a double triple in the win over Minnesota Crookston with 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds - Clint Thomas had 15 points against Minnesota Crookston to move past 500 points in his career (501). - Sophomore forward Drew Guebert had two more double figure games (16, 14) and moved past 600 career points (621)
Up Next
Friday, Jan.20 vs Minnesota  State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs  Concordia-St. Paul - 6 p.m.

 

Southwest Minnesota State University

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 77-74 at UMC L 96-86 at BSU	14-3, 9-3	L1	8th Overall, 4th South
Team Notes
- SMSU, which has played just five home games all season, will play four straight at home starting this weekend - BSU’s 96 points scored last Saturday was the most allowed by SMSU in regulation this season - SMSU has had a pair of six-game winning streaks this season - SMSU has eight “true” road wins this season, its highest total since the 2008-09 team finished 11-2 - SMSU has six players averaging 10 or more points per game this season - Senior Mitch Weg needs eight rebounds to become the seventh player in team history to reach 700 career rebounds
Top Performer(s)
- Junior center Carter Kirk averaged a double-double last weekend, with 14.5 ppg and 10 rpg in two road games. He shot 75 percent combined in the two games. - Kirk has recorded a team-high five double-doubles this season - Sophomore guard Ryan Bruggeman averaged 14.5 ppg, 6.0 apg and 4.0 rpg in two games
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs. Concordia-St. Paul - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs. Minnesota State - 7 p.m.

 

St. Cloud State University Huskies

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 92-89 vs UIU W 88-65 vs WSU	13-7, 9-2 North	W2	3rd Overall, t-1st North
Team Notes
- The Huskies won both games over the weekend with 92-89 victories over Upper Iowa and 88-65 win over Winona State - The program has now won two games in a row and seven of the last eight contests - The program has scored 80 or more points in 12 of the last 13 games - Gage Davis led the team in scoring in both games with 26 points against Upper Iowa and 29 against Winona State - Davis has led scored 20 or more points in six straight games and in 15 of the 20 games this season - He became the 40th member of the SCSU 1000-point club in the first half against Winona State – in only his 49th career contest - Scottie Stone scored 22 points against Upper Iowa and 27 against Winona State - SCSU needed a second half 11-point rally to beat Upper Iowa and led wire-to-wire for the fourth time this season against Winona State - The program has now equaled their win total from all of last season with the13th win of the campaign over Winona State -The team is one win away from equally their NSIC win total from a season ago of 10
Top Performer(s)
- Gage Davis - 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal against Upper Iowa / 29 points, nine rebounds and three steals against Winona State - Scottie Stone – 22 points against Upper Iowa and 27 points and eight rebounds against Winona State - Trevon Marshall – 17 points and six assists against Upper Iowa - Alex O’Neill – 10 points against Winona State
Up Next
Tuesday, Jan 17, vs. Minnesota Duluth - 7 p.m. Friday, Jan.20, at Northern State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at MSU Moorhead - 6 p.m.

Upper Iowa University Peacocks

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 92-89 at SCSU W 85-78 at UMD	12-6, 9-3 NSIC	W1	9th Overall, 6th NSIC South
Team Notes
- Upper Iowa split a pair of road cross-division matchups, dropping a heartbreaking 92-89 loss to St. Cloud State before using a late run to beat Minnesota Duluth 85-78 - The Peacocks trailed by 3 with 10 seconds left, and missed two shots before time expired at St. Cloud State to drop the three-point decision - UIU used an 11-4 run in the final three minutes to defeat UMD, with Jordan Hay scoring six of those points to help close out the Bulldogs - Upper Iowa missed a total of 9 shots in the second half against the Bulldogs, shooting 73% from the field - The Peacocks shot 55% for the weekend, and outrebounded the Minnesota Duluth 36-24 for the game - The Peacocks have won 9 of their first 12 conference games for the first time as a member of the Northern Sun
Top Performer(s)
- Jimmy Roth averaged 17.5 points for the two games, and converted 10-18 shots from the field - Dennis Austin III averaged 16.5 points for the weekend including a 20-point effort on Friday at St. Cloud State - Carson Parker averaged 17 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and converted on 13-18 shots for the weekend - Jordan Hay averaged 9.5 points, but scored 6 of the team’s final 11 in the last 1:35 on Saturday night at UMD, and had the game-clinching block on the defensive end to preserve the win - Five different Peacocks totaled in double figures on Saturday for the 11th time this season - Kam Rowan was the leading rebounder Friday night (8) while Austin and Hay each totaled 7 to lead the team on Saturday
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs. Augustana – 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 vs. Wayne State – 6 p.m.

 

Wayne State College Wildcats

Last Week 0-2	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 76-66 NSU L 95-87 MSUM	5-13, 3-9 South	L3	15th Overall, 8th South
Top Performer(s)
- Sophomore forward Kendall Jacks scored career-high 28 points vs. MSU Moorhead - Jacks averaged 21.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game vs. Northern State and MSU Moorhead - Redshirt freshman guard Luke TerHark scored career-high 16 points vs. Northern State
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 at Winona State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at Upper Iowa - 6 p.m.

 

Winona State University Warriors

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 78-70 at UMD OT L 88-65 at SCSU	8-8, 5-7 NSIC	L1	5th Overall, 4th South
Team Notes
- In the Warriors win against UMD, WSU was a perfect 4-4 from the field in overtime, including hitting three, threes - Winona State had 21 assists against St. Cloud State, led by Riley Bambenek who had nine - Three Warriors scored in double figures in each game over the weekend - Winona State made a season high 20 free throws against the Huskies
Top Performer(s)
- Tommy Gathje had 39 points and 15 rebounds on the weekend. On Friday against UMD he had 28 points, setting a career high - Isaiah Gray had 22 points in the win against the Bulldogs, his shot at the end of regulation sent the game to overtime - Riley Bambenek had 14 points vs the Bulldogs, including four made three-pointers - Connor Flack had 14 points against St. Cloud State - Kyle Bauman scored 12 points vs the Huskies
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 20 vs Wayne State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan 21 vs Augustana – 6 p.m.