For Immediate Release
Monday, January 24, 2022
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC North Division Player of the Week
#23 Melvin Newbern (G/F, 6-5, 195, Sr., Robbinsdale, Minn. / Robbinsdale Cooper) - Minot State
- Averaged 17.5 points, 9.5 rebound, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals in a pair of wins
- Shot 76.0 percent from the field (13-of-17) 
- Had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a 97-69 win over Minnesota State
- Added 20 points and eight boards in a 98-54 win over CSP

NSIC South Division Player of the Week
#25 Tyler Riemersma (F, 6-8, 215, Sr., Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson HS) - Augustana 
- Averaged 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over two home wins
- Shot 67.5 percent from the field (23-of-34) on the weekend
- Tallied 46 of his 47 points from the field, with just a single point from the charity stripe
- Started the weekend with a 19 point, 10 rebound effort in a 89-80 win over No. 9 UMD
- Followed with 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 101-67 win over St. Cloud State
- Added 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals over the two games
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the third time this season (11/15/21 & 12/13/21)

Other Top Performances - North
#33 Lucas Mayer (UMary) scored the winning basket with 4.9 seconds remaining in a 68-66 win over Concordia-St. Paul on an offensive rebound. He scored 12 points and had seven rebounds in his first start of the year. In a 65-60 win over Minnesota State had a defensive rebound and forced a turnover by taking a charge in the closing minute of the victory.
#32 Austin Andrews (UMD) averaged 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, an assist and a block over the weekend. He shot 19-25 (76%) from the field and 6-7 from the foul line. He tallied 26 points and nine rebounds in the Bulldogs win over Wayne State over the weekend.
#1 Lorenzo McGhee (MSUM) averaged 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on the weekend. He had his second double-double of the season (17 points, 10 rebounds) in 74-58 win over Winona State on Friday. He added 13 points and five rebounds in 66-63 loss to No. 13 Upper Iowa. He shot 73 percent (11-of-15) from the field for the week.
#5 Sam Masten (NSU) led Northern State averaging 21.0 points and 5.5 rebounds versus Upper Iowa and Winona State.  He shot 45.2% from the floor and added eight assists and three steals. He connected 12-of-14 from the foul line.

Other Top Performances - South
#23 Matt Cartwright (USF) averaged 20.0 points per game, three rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game. He had 18 points in helping USF to a 72-65 victory over BSU.  USF closed on a 33-12 run to earn the victory. Then he made 5 triples and had 22 points against Minnesota Crookston as USF rolled to a 73-47 win. He knocked in 8-of-20 from three-point range in the two games and pushed his career point total to 1,125. He had his 49th and 50th double-digit scoring game with his 19th game (8th at USF) of 20 points or more.
#20 Joe Smoldt (UIU) averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds as Upper Iowa split a pair of road games at Northern State (L, 90-81) and MSU Moorhead (W, 66-63). Smoldt shot 47.8% from the floor including 6-13 shooting from three. His final three- pointer of the weekend came from 25 feet, with 0.5 seconds on the clock to defeat the Dragons.
#5 Alec Rosner (WSU) averaged 17 ppg in a 1-1 NSIC weekend. He led all scorers with 25 pts in a 83-74 win at Northern State. Had five rebounds per game and was 6-of-9 (66.6%) from behind the arc across the two games.

NSIC Men's Basketball Players of the Week
11/15/21
N: #22 Drew Blair - Minnesota Duluth
S: #25 Tyler Riemersma - Augustana
11/22/21
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State
S: #42 Jake Phipps  - SMSU
11/29/21
N: #32 Austin Andrews - Minnesota Duluth
S: #20 Joe Smoldt - Upper Iowa
12/6/21
N: #32 Austin Andrews - Minnesota Duluth (2)
S: #10 Quincy Anderson - Minnesota State
12/13/21
N: #20 Caleb Donaldson - St. Cloud State 
S: #25 Tyler Riemersma - Augustana (2)
12/20/21
N: #32 Austin Andrews - Minnesota Duluth (3)
S: #42 Jake Phipps - SMSU (2)
1/3/22
N: #21 Jacksen Moni - Northern State
S: #2 Jack Thompson - Sioux Falls
1/10/22
N: #32 Austin Andrews - Minnesota Duluth (4)
S: #13 Kenny Byers - SMSU
1/17/22
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State (2)
S: #15 Jake Hilmer - Upper Iowa
1/24/22
N: #23 Melvin Newbern- Minot State
S: #25 Tyler Riemersma - Augustana (3)


About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 24 team national championships and crowned 81 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.