For Immediate Release
Monday, February 6, 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 24.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in wins over WSU & UIU
- Shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the field, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from three-point range
- Also shot 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the foul line
- Had 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 85-63 win over Winona State
- Had 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 11-of-12 foul shooting in 93-85 win over Upper Iowa
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the third time this season (11/28/16 & 1/16/17)

NSIC South Division Player of the Week
#4 Mike Busack (F, 6-5, 205, Sr., Belview, Minn. / Redwood Valley HS)
Augustana
- Averaged 18.0 points and 14.0 rebounds on the weekend
- Averaged a double-double, setting a career-high in rebounds on Friday night before matching it on Saturday
- Also shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field, including 50 percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range
- Grabbed 23 of his 28 total rebounds of the defensive glass
- Opened the weekend with 15 points and 14 rebounds in 87-68 win over Minnesota Crookston
- Followed that with 21 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds in a 78-60 win over BSU
- Was 9-of -14 from the field and hit 3-of-4 from 3-point range
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the second time this season (1/9/17)
 

Augustana University Vikings

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 87-68 vs. UMC W 78-60 vs. BSU	17-7, 12-6 NSIC	W2	2nd Overall, 2nd South
Team Notes
-Augustana put together two strong second-half performances at home this past weekend to pick up a pair of wins over NSIC North Division opponents -The Vikings dominated the glass on Friday night, out-rebounding Minnesota Crookston 49-23 and used 22 second-chance points to secure an 87-68 win -Augustana shot 52.1 percent (37 of 71) from the field in the win over UMC -Minnesota Crookston built a 7-0 lead to open the game but the Vikings took over near the midway point of the first half and taking a seven-point lead into halftime -Augustana had three players score in double-figures in the win over UMC, led by Mike Busack’s double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds -On Saturday night, Augustana out-scored Bemidji State 46-26 in the second half on its way to a 78-60 win over the Beavers at the Sioux Falls Arena -Two players put up 20-plus points for the Vikings on the night, led by Adam Beyer who finished with 22 on 8 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range -Augustana shot 48.5 percent from the field and hit 9 3-pointers -The Vikings out-rebounded BSU 37-29 and produced 19 points off of 12 Bemidji State turnovers
Top Performer(s)
-Mike Busack averaged a double-double on the weekend for the Vikings setting a career-high in rebounds on Friday night before matching it on Saturday -Busack averaged 18.0 points and 14.0 rebounds on the weekend -He also shot 51.7 percent (15 of 29) from the field, including 50 percent (6 of 12) from 3-point range -Busack grabbed 23 of his 28 total rebounds of the defensive glass -He opened the weekend with 15 points and 14 rebounds against Minnesota Crookston -Busack followed that with 21 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds against Bemidji State on Saturday -Busack was 9 of 14 from the field and hit 3 of 4 3-pointers while also dishing out two assists and picking up one block -Adam Beyer averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds on the weekend, scoring a game-high 22 points on Saturday against Bemdji State -Jordan Spencer finished the weekend averaging 14.5 points and 8.0 assists -Spencer put up 15 points and nine assists against BSU on Saturday after going for 14 points and 7 assists on Friday night
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 at Sioux Falls - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at Southwest Minnesota State - 7 p.m.

 

Bemidji State University Beavers

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 78-76 at WSC L 78-60 at Augie	9-14, 7-11 NSIC	L1	14th Overall, 7th North
Team Notes
- Bemidji State had won six of its last nine games with a 78-76 victory at Wayne State before Augustana handed BSU a 78-60 loss - Junior guard Christian Pekare hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the game against Wayne State - The Wildcats had made two free throws with five seconds remaining to set up a pass from senior forward Ben Best to Pekarek who sank the off-balanced shot from 27-feet out - Bemidji State held a 34-32 lead versus Augustana and led by as many as eight points in the first half - After a 48-48 tie, the Vikings outscored the Beavers, 30-12, to finish the final 12 minutes of the game - Bemidji State is tied with Minot State and U-Mary at 7-11 in NSIC action, while MISU holds a tiebreaker over BSU and BSU holds a tiebreaker over U-Mary to place the Beavers fifth in the North Division
Top Performer(s)
- Junior guard Christian Pekarek averaged 13.0 points per game including a team-high 18 in the win against the Wildcats - He shot 45.5 percent, 10-for-22, from the field and 45.5 percent, 5-for-11, from beyond the arc while totaling four steals - Freshman guard Jai’Vionne Green led BSU in scoring for the 13th time this season and fourth consecutively while scoring 18 points versus WSC and 16 versus Augie - Senior forward Ben Best was one point shy of his second double-double of the season versus WSC with nine points and 10 rebounds
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 at MSU Moorhead – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb.11 at Northern State – 6 p.m.

 

Concordia University, St. Paul Golden Bears

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 56-88 vs SCSU W 95-85 vs UMD	5-20, 2-16 NSIC	W1	11th Overall, 7th South
Team Notes
-CSP saw the Huskies shoot 54.0% from the floor while shooting just 33.9% themselves as SCSU cruised to an 88-56 win on Friday -The Golden Bears snapped their 14-game losing streak on Saturday as they scored a season-high 95 points in a 95-85 win over UMD -In Saturday’s win,  CSP jumped out to a seven point lead at the half while shooting 65.5% before finishing the night with a mark of 59.3% as well as a 44-20 edge in points in the paint
Top Performer(s)
- Diallo Powell gave the Golden Bears a big spark off the bench with a team-leading 21.0 points per game, including a career-high 27 points in the win over UMD, to go along with 4.0 boards and 1.5 steals in the two games - Bryndan Matthews led CSP starters with 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting an even 50.0% (13-26) from the floor on the weekend
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 at Winona State  – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at Upper Iowa – 6 p.m.

University of Mary Marauders

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 81-72 vs. USF L 76-62 vs SMSU	9-15, 7-11 NSIC	L1	10th Overall,4th North
Team Notes
- Remained in a three-way tie for 4th place and the final home playoff slot in the NSIC North - Split weekend home games, defeating USF before losing to SMSU - Made 20-of-27 shots in second half to knock off USF - The Marauders' three longest-tenured players – seniors Damonta Henry, Bryan Jefferson and Isaac Lindquist – combined for 56 points against USF
Top Performer(s)
- Sr. G Damonta Henry averaged 21 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last weekend. He had 15 points in the win over USF and added 17 against SMSU. Henry made all eight free throws - Sr. C Isaac Lindquist reached double digits in both games and extended his string of games with 10 or more points to three. Lindquist had 10 points against USF and 15 points and five rebounds against SMSU - Sr. F Bryan Jefferson posted 21 points and 8 rebounds against Sioux Falls. He also had six assists, made 7-of-9 field goals and was 7-of-11 at the line
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 vs. St. Cloud State  - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11  vs Minnesota Duluth - 6 p.m.

University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 87-68 at AUGIE L 79-72 at WSC	7-17, 3-15 NSIC	L2	16th Overall, 8th North
Team Notes
- The Golden Eagles are just two wins shy of tying a program-best nine wins in the NSIC era, set during the 2000-01 season - UMC shot 37.5 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from beyond the arc and 84.2 percent from the charity stripe in a 87-68 loss at Augustana - The Golden Eagles fell 79-72 to Wayne State Saturday. UMC shot 46.3 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from beyond the arc and 78.9 percent from the charity stripe. - UMC is currently tied with Minnesota Duluth for seventh in the NSIC North with a 3-15 conference mark - Harrison Cleary needs 89 points to break Joe Hasz's single-season scoring record of 599 points set during the 2001-02 season

Top Performer(s)

- Harrison Cleary had 16 points, including going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe, against Augustana - Chase Knickerbocker tallied 16 points versus Augustana - Riley Rice came off the bench for 10 points, including going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc - Harrison Cleary tallied 25 points on 7-of-20 from the field and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe Saturday against Wayne State - Connor Gamble had a career-high 22 points on 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc - Chase Johnson notched a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds with three blocks

Up Next

Fri., Feb. 10  at Northern State - 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11  at MSU Moorhead - 6 p.m.

University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 56-51 at MSU L 95-85 at CSP	4-20, 3-15 NSIC	L10	12th Overall, 6th North
Team Notes
- UMD was tied with Minnesota State with just over five minutes to play, but the Mavericks pulled away late for a 56-51 win - The Bulldogs dropped game two of the weekend to Concordia-St. Paul, who shot 59.3 percent from the field - Four players scored double-digit points for UMD against Minnesota State - The Bulldogs posted a 1.67 assist to turnover ratio against CSP
Top Performer(s)
- Logan Rohrscheib scored career-high 26 points against Concordia and ended the weekend with 39 total points - Luke Harris averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds on the weekend - Jake Wilson has scored double-digit points in eight of nine games and picked up 26 points over two games
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 at Minot State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at U-Mary – 6 p.m.

Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 56-51 vs. UMD W 79-62 vs. SCSU	17-7, 12-6 NSIC	W4	1st Overall, 1st South
Team Notes
- Minnesota State went 2-0 this past weekend at home as it defeated Minnesota Duluth 56-51 and St. Cloud State 79-62 - The Mavericks have now won their last four games and eight of their last 10 - Minnesota State outrebounded its opponents 40.5-32.0 last weekend - As a team, MSU shot 45.5% from the field last weekend - The Mavericks recorded 13 blocks last weekend - Senior Jon Fuqua averaged a double-double last weekend as he tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds a game
Top Performers
Senior Jon Fuqua – 16.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 684. FG%, 75.0 FT% Sophomore Joey Witthus – 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 42.1 FG%
Next Week
- Friday, Feb 10 at Upper Iowa – 8 p.m. - Saturday, Feb. 11 at Winona State – 6 p.m.

 

Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 85-63 vs. WSU W 93-85 vs. UIU	18-4, 15-3 NSIC	W3	3rd Overall, 1st North
Team Notes
- The Dragons stayed in first place in NSIC with a pair of home wins - MSUM beat Winona State, 85-63 on Friday thanks to 21 points from senior G Aaron Lien - The Dragons outlasted Upper Iowa, 93-85 with Lien leading the way with 27 points - MSUM leads NSIC by one game over SMSU and Northern State with four games remaining - Dragons have won 10 of their last 11 games
Top Performer(s)
- Senior G Aaron Lien averaged 24.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for the week while shooting 70 percent (14-of-20) for the field and 93.8 percent from the foul line (15-of-16) - Junior G Tanner Kretchman averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 assists for the week - RFr. G Matt Anderson scored 10 points in win over Upper Iowa - Senior G Jon Doss had 12 points in win over Winona - Senior F Ayob Ayob had 14 points in win over Winona
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Bemidji State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Minnesota Crookston - 6 p.m.

 Minot State University B

Minot State University Beavers

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Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 64-74 vs. SMSU W 77-66 vs. USF	11-13, 7-11 NSIC	W1	T12th Overall, 5th North
Team Notes
- Snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-66 win over Sioux Falls Saturday at the MSU Dome, splitting a pair of games this weekend after falling 74-64 to Southwest Minnesota State - Outscored SMSU 39-33 in the second half, but couldn’t complete a comeback - Shot 52 percent from the field and held USF to just 29 points in the second half to earn the win Saturday - Hit 54.55 percent in the second half against USF
Top Performer(s)
- Tyler Rudolph scored 48 points and pulled down 23 rebounds on the weekend, including a 34-13 night in the win over USF, earning two more double-doubles on the season - Luis Ricci Maia averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 10 for 19 from the field over two games - Russ Davis broke out of a small shooting slump with 5-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc Saturday to finish with 15 points in the win
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Minnesota Duluth – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. St. Cloud State – 6 p.m.

Northern State University Wolves

Last Week – 2-0	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 83-72 vs. UIU W 85-58 vs. WSU	18-6, 8-2 NSIC	W6	7th Overall, 3rd North
Team Notes
- NSU swept Upper Iowa and Winona State at home over I Hate Winter weekend, extending their win streak to six games - The Wolves currently sit second in the NSIC North and third in the league overall behind MSU Moorhead and Southwest Minnesota State - Northern shot 50.9 percent from the floor, 31.3 percent from the arc, and 76.9 percent from the foul line against the Peacocks - In night two, the Wolves shot 52.6 percent from the floor, 52.2 percent from the arc, and 72.2 percent from the foul line versus the Warriors - On the weekend, NSU out-rebounded their opponents 83-54 and tallied 26 second chance points
Top Performer(s)
- Ian Smith led the team over the weekend scoring 32 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. The sophomore notched a double-double versus UIU with 18 points and 12 rebounds - Carter Evans led the team against the Warriors with 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench - DJ Pollard notched double figures each night with 13 points against the Peacocks and ten points versus the Warriors
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Minnesota Crookston – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Bemidji State - 6 p.m.

University of Sioux Falls Cougars

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 81-72 at UMary L 77-66 at MISU	13-13, 9-9 NSIC	L4	6th Overall, 3rd South
Team Notes
- USF dropped a pair of road contests last weekend, falling to U-Mary, 81-72 and Minot State, 77-66 - USF is fifth in the NSIC South standings. USF has lost 5-of-6 but have won 9-of-15 and sit 13-13 overall and 9-9 in the league - Of its 13 losses, seven have been by two points or less, including five in NSIC play. In fact, USF has lost three home games by two points or less - The Cougars have loss eight total games by four points or fewer - USF ranks first in field goal percentage defense (.431), scoring defense (69.7) and ranks third in three point percentage defense (.341) - During the four-game tailspin, USF is being outscored, 82.0-to-70.2, including being outshot, 52.4 percent to 42.6 percent - USF is just 25-of-83 on three pointers for 30.1 percent
Player Notes
- Over the weekend, senior guard Mack Johnson had 34 total points and moved into 9th place on USF’s all-time scoring chart with 1,547 - Johnson is 42 points from 8th (Luther Hippe, 1,589, 1983-87). He also leads USF all-time in three-point  field goals with 221 - Clint Thomas ranks sixth in the NSIC in three point percentage at 48.5 percent - Thomas ranks 11th in made threes all-time at USF with 124, just three from tying Lance Winter (1991-93) with 127 - Drew Guebert has 118, which places him 13th, just one from 12th (Corey Smith, 1999-02, 119) - He also has two of the top nine three point field goal seasons in school history - He had 60 for ninth a year ago and his 64 this year is seventh -  For first time in school history, USF has three players with at least 118 career threes on the same team
Up Next
- Friday, Feb 10 vs Augustana – 8 p.m. - Saturday, Feb. 11 vs Wayne State – 6 p.m.

 

Southwest Minnesota State University

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 74-64, MISU W 76-62, UMARY	19-4, 14-4 NSIC	W2	8th Overall, 4th South
Team Notes
- SMSU’s 19-4 record is the best in team history - SMSU’s 19 victories marks the seventh time in school history SMSU has won 19 games in a season - SMSU has four 20-win seasons in school history, with the last coming in 2008-09 - SMSU has 10 “true” road wins this season, tying the 2000-01 team for the second most in team history - The school record was set in 2008-09, when SMSU finished 11-2 in road game
Top Performer(s)
- Sophomore guard Ryan Bruggeman averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in the two road victories last weekend - Senior center Mitch Weg averaged 11 ppg and 6.5 rpg, while shooting 62 percent from the field
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Wayne State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Augustana - 7 p.m.

 

St. Cloud State University Huskies

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 88-56 at CSP L 79-62 at MSU	17-10, 13-5 NSIC	W1	3rd Overall, t-1st North
Team Notes
- The Huskies went 1-1 on the road on the week with an 88-56 win over Concordia and a 79-62 loss to Minnesota State - The 56 points allowed to Concordia was the lowest for the program since giving up just 49 to Crown College last season - The 62 points scored against Minnesota State was the second time in two match ups this season that SCSU has only scored 62 points against the Mavericks - SCSU has won five of the last six games against CSP and hasn’t defeated Minnesota State since the 2011-12 season - The program was outrebounded, 46-33, in the contest against MSU for only the fifth time this season - Scottie Stone officially moved to fifth all-time on the school’s scoring list and has 1,700 career points
Top Performer(s)
- Gage Davis - 19 points and eight rebounds at CSP / 26 points and 10 rebounds at Minnesota State - The double-double was Davis’ 10th of the season - He averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three point range - Scottie Stone – 19 points at CSP / 12 points at Minnesota State - Jon Averkamp – 11 points at CSP / 16 points at Minnesota State
Up Next
Friday Feb. 10 at UMary– 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at Minot State – 6 p.m.

Upper Iowa University Peacocks

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 83-72 at NSU L 93-84 at MSUM	16-8, 13-5 NSIC	L2	9th Overall, 6th NSIC South
Team Notes
- Upper Iowa dropped two straight games in the NSIC for the first time this season, falling at Northern State and at MSU Moorhead in a pair of NSIC cross-division battles - UIU converted just 39% from the field in the loss Friday night, and NSU went on a late 15-7 run to stretch out the lead and close out the game - MSU Moorhead used a 10-2 run in the final minutes to defeat the Peacocks in a game that featured 13 ties, 13 lead changes, 23 three-pointers, and 178 combined points - UIU’s five-game winning streak was snapped, and have now lost two straight for the first time since its second and third games of the season - Upper Iowa led both games at halftime this weekend, dropping both, after winning four straight games they trailed at the half; UIU is now 10-3 when leading or ties at halftime this season - The Peacocks are in second place in the NSIC South division, with four divisional games left in the regulars season
Top Performer(s)
- Carson Parker averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game to lead the Peacocks, including a 26-point night on Saturday at MSUM - The junior point guard converted 18-26 from the field, including 6-12 from behind the arc - Senior Jimmy Roth averaged 9.5 points per game - Redshirt senior Jordan Hay averaged 9 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for the weekend
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Minnesota State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Concordia-St. Paul – 6 p.m.

 

Wayne State College Wildcats

Last Week 1-1	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 78-76 vs BSU W 79-72 vs UMC	8-16, 6-12 NSIC	W1	15th Overall, 8th South
Team Notes
- Six league wins are the most for WSC since the 2012-13 season
Top Performer(s)
- Sophomore forward Kendall Jacks scored 19 points in both games vs. BSU, UMC - Jacks averaged 19 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, shooting 70 percent from the field (14-20) - Jacks has scored double figures in 16 straight games and 22 of 24 this season - Junior reserve guard Austin Esters averaged 15 points per game, shooting 63.2 percent from the field - Junior guard Matt Thomas scored 15 points in both games, going 13-15 (86.7%) at the line
Up Next
Friday, February 10 at Southwest Minnesota State - 8 p.m. Saturday, February 11 at Sioux Falls - 6 p.m.

 

Winona State University Warriors

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 85-63 at MSUM L 85-58 at NSU	10-12, 7-11 NSIC	L2	5th Overall, 4th South
Team Notes
- Held to under 42% from the field in both games - Hit ten three pointer field goals against MSU Moorhead - Tied a season high 32 three-point field goals against MSU Moorhead
Top Performer(s)
- Riley Bambenek scored 25 points against Northern State by shooting 9-13 from the field - Mason Domask scored a career high eight points against MSU Moorhead - Josh Mongan had six assists and no turnovers on the weekend - Connor Flack scored 11 points and grabbed five points against MSU Moorhead - Tommy Gathje had 18 points on the weekend, including 11 v MSU Moorhead
Up Next
Friday,  Feb. 10 vs Concordia – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 vs Minnesota State – 6 p.m.