For Immediate Release
Monday, January 29, 2018
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet (PDF)

NSIC Men's Basketball Players of the Week

NSIC North Division Player of the Week
#20 Gage Davis (G/F, 6-4, 185, Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook HS)
St. Cloud State
- Averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.7% from the field
- Added five assists per game, plus a block and a steal
- Recorded a pair of double-doubles and has a double-double in each of his last three games
- Now has 28 double-doubles in his career and four this season
- He picked up 19 points and 12 rebounds in a 82-58 win at Wayne State
- Added 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 80-63 win at Augustana
- Has scored in double figures in 12 of the team’s 13 games including 11 in a row this season

NSIC South Division Player of the Week
#4 Trevon Evans (G, 6-0, 175, Jr., Wichita, Kan. / Eisenhower HS / Dodge City CC)
Sioux Falls
- Averaged 35.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in a weekend split
- In a 97-76 loss to #12 NSU, recorded a career high and USF DII record 42 points, hitting seven 3-pointers in 10 attempts
- In a 70-67 win over to MSUM, hit the game winning three-pointer at the buzzer
- Finished with his second career double double with 29 points and 10 rebounds at MSUM
- Added five assists, a steal and was 5-of-12 from three point range and 10-of 22 from the floor
- Scored nearly half the points for USF this weekend, producing 71 of  the 146 points 
- Just one of three players in the NSIC to score over 40 points this season
- The 42 points is second in the NSIC this season as UMC's Harrison Cleary had 46 on Friday night
- Has ten 20-point or better games in last 15 played, including six over 25 points
 

Augustana University Vikings

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 85-65 vs. UMD L 80-63 vs. SCSU	13-9, 8-8 South	L1	4th Overall, 2nd South
Team Notes
- The Vikings committed a season-low five turnovers and got a season-low five bench points on Friday - Jordan Spencer made each of his last 26 free throws, with his last miss coming against MSU on Jan. 5 - After leading at some point in each of the first 21 games of the season, the Vikings did not lead at any point of the game on Saturday - Augustana used the same five starters in all 22 games this season
Top Performer(s)
- Jordan Spencer scored a game-high 30 points on Friday, which marks his second 30-point game this season, and the fourth of his career   - Marcus Asmus notched his fourth double-double of the season on Friday with 15 points and 13 rebounds - It also marked the fifth double-double of his career
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. at Minnesota Crookston - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Bemidji State - 6 p.m.

 

Bemidji State University Beavers

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 82-76 at CSP L 87-70 at MSU	9-12, 6-10 North	L1	10th Overall, 5th North
Team Notes
- Bemidji State split its last two games with an 82-76 win at CSP and an 87-70 loss at MSU to finish with its third split over the last three weekends - After trailing by six points at halftime, the Beavers outscored the Golden Bears, 50-38, in the second half to seal the comeback victory - The Beavers shot 47.4 percent from the field, 48.4 percent from beyond the arc and went 13-of-14 from the free throw line while totaling a NSIC-season-high 15 3-pointers - BSU held an 18-12 lead eight minutes into action against MSU, but the Mavericks followed with a 23-1 run to control the game the rest of the way - Bemidji State shot 47.5 percent from the floor, 27.3 percent from long range and 53.3% from the charity stripe, and lost the rebound margin, 50-28 - The Beavers finished the weekend shooting 47.4 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from 3-point range and 72.4 percent from the free throw line, while pulling down 30.0 rebounds and dishing out 11.0 assists per game
Top Performer(s)
- Senior guard Christian Pekarek led BSU in scoring during both games of the weekend with a career-high 27 points against Concordia St. Paul, including 24 in the second half, and 17 points at Minnesota State - Pekarek finished the weekend averaging 22.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game - Sophomore guard Jai’Vionne Green totaled 14.0 points per game on the weekend while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and pulled down 5.0 rebounds per game - Senior guard Sharif Black shot 52.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc to average 13.0 points per contest - Black also led BSU with 6.5 boards per game
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs Wayne State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 vs Augustana - 6 p.m.

 

Concordia University, St. Paul Golden Bears

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 66-95 vs MSU; L 76-82 vs BSU; W 74-68 vs UMC	4-18, 3-13 NSIC	W1	14th Overall, 8th South
Team Notes
- After dropping their first two games of the week to MSU and BSU, the Golden Bears bounced back to claim a 74-68 victory over UMC to close out their five game home stand - While CSP outshot their opponents by a large margin (48.0% to 44.0%) overall for the week, three-point shooting proved to be an issue as their opponents hit 36 threes at a 42.9% clip while they hit 14 at a 31.1% clip - Turnovers were another area that hurt Concordia as they committed 48 turnovers and forced 33 in the three games - Rebounding continued to be a strong point for the Golden Bears as they put up a large 110-95 edge, including a 27-25 edge in offensive rebounds
Top Performer(s)
- Bryndan Matthews put up back-to-back career nights in scoring with 28 against BSU and 29 against UMC as he averaged 22.7 points and 7.7 boards on the week - Avan Ward added 13.7 points per game to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists - Ted Brown continued to be extremely efficient as he connected on 80.0% (12-15) of his shots en route to averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game in the three contests
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 at St. Cloud State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Minnesota Duluth - 6 p.m.

 

University of Mary Marauders

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 92-86 OT vs UIU L 71-62 vs WSU	5-15, 3-13 NSIC	L2	16th Overall, 8th North
Team Notes
- Marauders are set to start a four-game road trip with a visit to Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State on Feb. 2-3 - UMary has won three straight road games - The Upper Iowa game was the second straight overtime contest. R-Fr. Connor Hellebust sent the Peacocks game to OT with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation. - Over the weekend, the Marauders connected on 21-of-45 three-pointers combined against UIU and WSU, made 53-of-105 shots overall and hit 21-of-25 free throws - UMary has made double digit 3-pointers in three straight games. Happened just once in the previous 11 outings
Top Performer(s)
- Keith Hunter 20 points per game last weekend as he had 10 points and seven rebounds against UIU - Hunter tied his career-high 30 points against Winona State, making 6-of-10 3-pointers and 12-of-20 shots overall - Trevor Zacher made 9-of-13 3-pointers on the weekend - He had 17 points and 11 rebounds with three assists against Upper Iowa, making 5-of-8 treys - Zacher went 4-for-5 behind the arc against WSU and scored 14 points. Zacher also grabbed six rebounds
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 at Sioux Falls - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Southwest Minnesota State - 7 p.m.

University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 80-78 MSU L 74-68 CSP	8-14, 5-11 NSIC	L8	T-14th, 7th North
Team Notes
- UMC continues to be off to its best start in school history with an 8-14 mark (5-11 NSIC) - UMC needs one win to tie the school record of nine wins set during the 2000-01 season - The Golden Eagles are looking to halt an eight-game losing streak as they return home to face Augie and WSC - The Golden Eagles are 7-3 at Lysaker Gymnasium, but just 1-11 away from their friendly confines - Harrison Cleary has now scored 1,192 career points - Cleary is second all-time in scoring for Minnesota Crookston and needs 747 points to surpass Joe Hasz for first all-time - Gable Smith continues to lead NCAA Division II with 3.75 blocks per game for the Golden Eagles - Harrison Cleary is 11th in NCAA Division II in scoring with 24.0 points per game - Cleary is first in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage at 95.7 percent
Top Performer(s)
- Harrison Cleary averaged 36.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game - Gable Smith tallied 8.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Augustana – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3  vs. Wayne State – 6 p.m.

University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 85-65 at Augie L 88-86 OT at WSC	9-12, 5-10 North	L3	13th Overall, 6th North
Team Notes
- Allowed back-to-back 80-points games and are 1-7 in such situations this season - Erased a six-point lead by the Wildcats in the final 75 seconds to force overtime - Hit 49.1 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range - Averaged 3.0 blocks per game
Top Performer(s)
- Brandon Myer scored 22 and 20 points to average 21.0 points - Trevor Entwisle averaged 4.5 assists over the weekend including six in the overtime setback against Wayne State - Sean Burns collected 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Burns nabbed seven offensive boards - Logan Rohrscheib has hit double figures the last five outings with 12 and 17 points on the road trip
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Minnesota State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. Concordia-St. Paul - 6 p.m.

Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W, 95-66 at CSP W, 80-78 vs. UMC W, 87-70 vs. BSU	18-4 (14-2 NSIC)	W6	5th Overall, 2rd South Division
Team Notes
- Minnesota State has extended its winning streak to six games - As a team, the Mavericks shot 46.7% from the field last week, including a 50.0% showing from three point range - MSU tallied a season-high 15 three pointers against Concordia-St. Paul - Five Mavericks averaged at least 10 points per game last week - Minnesota State passed out 50 assists last week and forced 42 turnovers - In eight of their last 10 games, the Mavericks have scored at least 80 points
Top Performer(s)
- Sophomore Kevin Krieger – 22.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 60.0 FG%, 72.2 3pt%, 87.5 FT% - Senior Chris Kendrix – 16.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 53.1 FG%, 46.7 3pt%
Up Next
Sunday, Feb. 2 at Minnesota Duluth – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at St. Cloud State – 6 p.m.

 

Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 85-78 vs. SMSU L, 67-70 vs. USF	6-16, 4-12 NSIC	L1	4th Overall, 2nd North
Team Notes
- The Dragons split at home last weekend, defeating SMSU (85-78) before losing to Sioux Falls (70-67) in the final seconds - Junior Travaun Coad recorded his team-best seventh double-double of the season in loss to Sioux Falls; he has six in the Dragons’ last eight games - Senior  Tanner Kretchman is second in NSIC at 2.8 threes made per game - Kretchman is three points away from reaching 1,500 for his Dragon career
Top Performer(s)
- Junior Travaun Coad averaged 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game for the week while shooting 76.5 percent from the field - Senior Tanner Kretchman averaged 16.5 points per game for the week and shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range - Sophomore Johnny Beeninga averaged 14.5 points per game - Junior Addison Park averaged 12.0 points per game
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 at Winona State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Upper Iowa - 6 p.m.

 

Minot State University Beavers

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 70-65 vs WSU L 99-89 vs. UIU	17-5, 11-5 North	L2	7th Overall, 4th North
Team Notes
- Minot State dropped a pair of home contests to Winona State and Upper Iowa - Minot State begins its longest road trip of the season this week as it visits Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls and then travels to Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State the following week - Minot State shot better than 50.0 percent from the floor for the 11th time this season in the game against Upper Iowa - Minot State converted 12 three-point baskets against Upper Iowa which marks its second-highest total of the season
Top Performer(s)
- Tyler Rudolph scored 13 points against Upper Iowa to move into first place on the Minot State career scoring list with 1,837 points - David Akibo posted his 14th double-figure scoring game of the season with a 19-point effort against Upper Iowa - Luis Ricci Maia extended his streak of double figure scoring games to 10 straight - Tyler Rudolph collected his 32nd career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Upper Iowa
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 at Southwest Minnesota State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Sioux Falls – 6 p.m.

 

Northern State University Wolves

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 97-76 vs. USF L 64-57 vs. SMSU	21-3, 14-2 North	L1	1st Overall, 1st North
Team Notes
- The Northern State University men’s basketball team opened the week at No. 12 in the NABC Top-25 Poll - They notched a win over Sioux Falls and fell to Southwest Minnesota State over the weekend, however still sit first in the league and in the North - Northern shot 49.5 percent from the floor, 44.2 percent from the arc, and 80.6 percent from the foul line, while averaging 77.0 points, 36.5 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 12.0 turnovers, 3.5 steals, and 3.5 blocks per game - Six Wolves scored in double figures against the Cougars, while three finished the weekend averaging ten or more points per game - Three Wolves shot 50.0 percent or better from the floor, while another three shot a perfect 1.000 percent from the foul line - NSU scored a season low 57 points against Southwest Minnesota State, shooting just 34.5 percent from the floor
Top Performer(s)
- Logan Doyle led the team averaging a double-double with 15.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game - The senior notched his second and third straight double-doubles of the season - Ian Smith and Gabe King averaged 13.5 and 10.5 points per game - Bo Fries shot a team leading 70.0 percent from the floor and 71.4 percent from the arc, knocking down a team leading five made 3-pointers - Smith led the team with 13 assists, averaging 6.5 per game, while also going a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 at Upper Iowa – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Winona State – 6 p.m.

University of Sioux Falls Cougars

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 97-76 at #12 NSU W 70-67 at MSUM	14-8, 9-7 NSIC	W1	9th Overall, 5th South
Team Notes
- USF outrebounded opponents in 16 of 22 games and leads the NSIC in rebounding at 38.4 per game with a league-high 28.4 defensive rebounds per game - USF is second in the NSIC with a rebounding margin of 5.6 per game - USF ranks second in the NSIC with a rebounding margin of 5.6 per game - USF ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 79.8 ppg with nine games of 80 points or more - The Cougars are 6-4 in games they trailed at halftime, 8-2 at home, 5-6 on the road, and 13-2 when outrebounding opponents - With a 70-67 win over MSUM, USF had a 2-2 road trip and has won 4-of-6 games to move to 14-8 overall and 9-7 for fourth in NSIC South - After averaging 12 turnovers a game after 19 games, have dropped the average to 11.2 by committing just a combined 17 turnovers in winning two of the past three games
Top Performer(s)
- Trevon Evans averaged 35.5 ppg, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, made 12 3’s and 25 field goals in a 1-1 split this weekend - He had the league’s second best point performance with 42 vs #12 NSU; followed up with second career double of 29 points and 10 rebounds and hit the game-winning three to lift USF past MSUM, 70-67 - He now has 20 double digit scoring games in 21 played this season - With two more 20 point outings (42, 29), Trevon Evans has a team-high 12 this season; has 10 20 point or better games in last 15 played, including six over 25 points - Drew Guebert reached double digits in points for the 59th time in his career with 12 points against MSUM; has 1,238 points in his career for 19th all-time at USF - Aaron Rothermund had his fifth double digit scoring game this year with 10 against MSUM
Next Week
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. UMary - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. Minot State - 6 p.m.

Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 85-78 at MSUM W 64-57 at No. 12 NSU	15-7, 11-5 NSIC	W1	2nd Overall, 1st South
Team Notes
- SMSU snapped a two-game losing streak defeating No. 12 Northern State in Aberdeen on Saturday night - SMSU held NSU to season-low 35 percent shooting and a season-low 57 points - It was SMSU’s first win over a Top 25 team since January of 2017 - SMSU trailed by 20 points at MSUM on Friday, but rallied to take the lead in the second half - SMSU led by four points with 3:15 left and held a two-point lead with less than a minute left, but MSUM rallied for the win - Junior G Ryan Bruggeman ranks 11th (1,194), while senior C Carter Kirk ranks 15th (1,143) on the school all-time scoring list - Kirk ranks first in team history with a 58.4 career field goal percentage and is third with 769 rebounds - Bruggeman ranks first in team history with 412 assists
Top Performer(s)
- Senior Carter Kirk tied a school record with 21 rebounds in the win over NSU - Kirk also scored 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting in the win over NSU - Junior Ryan Bruggeman scored 26 points and had five assists in the loss at MSUM - Kirk has recorded 10 double-doubles this season and has a current streak of three in a row
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Minot State - 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. U-Mary - 6 p.m.

St. Cloud State University Huskies

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 82-58 at WSC W 80-63 at Augie	15-6, 11-4 North	W4	6th Overall, 3rd North
Team Notes
- The Huskies are 21-3 all-time against Wayne State and have won the last 10 matchups - The team improved 48-40 over Augustana - The team is now 15-3 this season when scoring 69 or more points - The program has won 13 of the last 17 games - The 55.4 percent shooting against Wayne State was the 11th time the program has shot better than 50 percent from the field as a team this season - The team’s 12 made three against Augustana was the third time that the program has knocked down 10 or more threes in a game this season
Top Performer(s)
- The 19 points and 12 rebounds against Wayne State and 19 points and 10 rebounds against Augustana from Gage Davis was his third and fourth double-double of the season - He has totaled three straight double-doubles - It was the 27th and 28th double-double of his career - He has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games - The team is 10-3 when Davis plays this year - Sean Smith with his 13 points against Wayne State has scored in double figures 12 times on the campaign - Brindley Theisen’s 29 points against Augustana were a career-high - His eight made threes were one of the school record of nine set 22 years ago in 1995
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Concordia-St. Paul – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. Minnesota State – 6 p.m.

Upper Iowa University Peacocks

Last Week	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 92-86 (OT) at UMary W 99-89 at MISU	13-12, 6-10 NSIC	W3	8th Overall, 4th South
Team Notes
- The Peacocks earned their first NSIC sweep of the season with road wins at UMary at Minot State - The 92-86 win at UMary was the first overtime game of the season for the team, while the win over Minot State was the first over a team receiving votes or nationally ranked since Jan. 2017 against #19 SMSU - Upper Iowa played their best two offensive games of the season, averaging 95.5 points and shooting 54% from the floor - UIU’s 64% performance at Minot State was a season-best, and the 57 second-half points was a season-high as well - The Peacocks shot 72% (21-29) from the field in the second half, their best performance in a 20-minute span in the Brooks McKowen era, which began in 2013 - Six players averaged double figures for the weekend for the first time this season
Top Performer(s)
- Freshman Joe Smoldt averaged 16.0 points on 9-22 shooting, including an 18-point effort in the upset at Minot State - Munachiso Okonkwo averaged 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, and added a pair of blocks as well; Okonkwo converted 12-15 from the floor - Carson Parker averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.5 rebounds to lead UIU - Parker scored 20 points on Friday, his eighth 20-point game of the season, and has now scored 1,339 points, which ranks 13th all-time in program history - Parker ranks 10th in the NSIC in scoring with 16.2 points per game, 15th in rebounding (5.9 RPG), and 3rd in assists (5.7 APG); his 143 total assists rank second in the league
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Northern State – 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. MSU Moorhead – 6 p.m.

Wayne State College Wildcats

Last Week 1-1	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
L 82-58 vs. SCSU W 88-86 OT vs. UMD	12-12, 7-9 South	W1	11th Overall, 6th South
Team Notes
- WSC splits NSIC homestand with loss to St. Cloud State 82-58 followed by 88-86 OT win over UMD - WSC shoots 57.9 percent in win over UMD, improving to 8-1 in games shooting 50 percent or better
Top Performer(s)
- Junior guard Vance Janssen scored career-high 22 points in win over UMD - Janssen averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 steals per game vs. SCSU and UMD - Junior guard Kendall Jacks had 21 points vs. UMD, his 7th game this season with 20 or more points - Senior forward Jordan Cornelius produced 16 points and 9 rebounds vs. UMD
Up Next
Friday, February 2 at Bemidji State - 8 p.m. Saturday, February 3 at Minnesota Crookston - 6 p.m.

Winona State University Warriors

Last Week 1-1	Season Record	Streak	Preseason Poll
W 70-65 at Minot W 71-62 at UMary	15-7, 6-4 South	W3	12th Overall, 7th South
Team Notes
- WSU has won 11 of their last 14 games - Handed Minot State just its second home loss of the season on Friday - Improved to 9-3 when attempting at least 25 three-pointers in a game - WSU ranks second in the NSIC in three-point shooting (41%) - Rank fourth in the NSIC in scoring defense (71 ppg) - Have held opponent to 70 or less in five of last seven games (6-1 record)
Top Performer(s)
- Sophomore Caleb Wagner led the Warriors with 23 points on Minot State - Junior Tommy Gathje led the Warriors with 18 points at UMary - Freshman Kevion Taylor averaged 13 points and six rebounds over the weekend
Up Next
Friday, Feb. 2 vs. MSU Moorhead – 8 pm Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. Northern State – 6 pm