For Immediate Release
Monday, February 13, 2023
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC North Division Player of the Week
#5 Sam Masten (G, 6-3, 185, Sr., Highlands Ranch, Colo. / Rock Canyon HS) - Northern State
- Averaged 23.0 points. 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in a pair of road wins
- Shot 69.2% from the floor, 50.0% from the 3-point line, and 1.000% from the foul line 
- Notched his fifth double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds win a 85-63 win at BSU
- Scored 25 points with eight boards in a 93-68 win at UMC
- Helped NSU clinch at least a share of the NSIC Overall and North Division championships
- Named NSIC Player of Week for the sixth time this season

NSIC South Division Player of the Week
#32 Jordan Janssen (F, 6-7, 220, 5th, Lincoln, Neb. / East HS) - Wayne State
- Averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 boards and 4.5 assists over the weekend
- Scored 30 points in an 92-79 overtime win against Concordia-St. Paul 
- Was 10-of-21 shooting and 10-12 from the free throw line in the win
- Scored 17 points in a one-point loss to Minnesota State 
- Totaled eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal
- Sits at 809 career rebounds in NSIC contests, ranking him second all-time
- Is 10 rebounds from tying Winona State’s Gus Johnson (1971-75) for the all-time record (819)

Other Top Performances - North  
#23 John Sutherland (BSU) tied a career-high with 27 points against #22 Northern State. He then added 19 points in the thrilling win over #23 MSU Moorhead. He grabbed seven rebounds in each game. For the week, Sutherland went 21-33 from the field, connecting on a three-pointer and three free throws. He pulled down 14 rebounds, dished out three assists, sent back two blocks and added a steal in 73 minutes. Sutherland now has posted at least 20 points in 11 games this year. 
#1 Zyon Smith (UMary) averaged 15.0 ppg in a pair of road games last weekend. He paced the Marauders with 16 at Minnesota Duluth and followed with 14 at St. Cloud State. He is averaging 11.3 ppg in his first season at UMary.
#23 Connor Hollenbeck (MINOT) recorded career highs in points (31), rebounds (10), steals (3), made FG (11) and made 3 Pt FG (6) against St. Cloud State. To go along with his 31 point double-double he also had 1 blocked shot. He shot 11-13 (84.6%) from the field, 6-7 (85.7%) from beyond the arc, while going a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line. Connor followed up his career night with an 18 point performance vs Duluth on Saturday. His hot shooting continued as he went 4-8 (50%) from the field, 3-6 (50%) from three and had another perfect night from the free throw line going 7-7. On the weekend he averaged 24.5 PPG, 5 RPG, 2 APG, and 1.5 SPG. 
#4 Jacob Beeninga (MSUM) scored 23 points on 50 percent shooting, snaring seven rebounds and grabbing three steals in the win as well. He notched another 23 points and four assists in Saturday’s game against Bemidji State. He finished the weekend averaging 23 points, five rebounds and two steals on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
#32 Luke Taylor (SCSU) was a key player in the Huskies weekend victories over Minot State and UMary. Taylor put up 48 total points going 20-37 (.540) from the field and 7-8 (.875) from the line with eight rebounds and seven assists. Taylor put up a career high 26 points in SCSU’s overtime win against Minot State going 11-20 (.550) from the field and a perfect 4-4 (1.000) from the line with three rebounds, and four assists. Against UMary, Taylor put up 22 points going 9-17 from the field, and 3-4 from the line with five rebounds and three assists.

Other Top Performances - South
#21 Isaac Fink (AUGIE) led Augustana to a weekend sweep with wins over Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. He averaged 16.5 points over the two games and secured 7.5 rebounds, both being team highs.  He also held a 4-to-1 assist to turnover ratio for the two games.
#1 Kyreese Willingham (MSU) averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last weekend, while shooting .455 from the field. He recorded a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. Wayne State. He also averaged 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game last weekend.
#15 Jake Hilmer (UIU) averaged 27.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game to lead UIU to a split at SMSU (60-69) and USF (95-90). The senior guard scored a career-high 42 points at Sioux Falls in UIU’s overtime win. Hilmer shot 40% from the field and 81.8% from the free throw line to score his 55 points in the two games.
#30 Connor Drew (WSU) put together a pair of strong performances in a 1-1 weekend for Winona State as he averaged 18.0 points per game, shot 46.2% from the floor, hauled in 7 rebounds per game and hit 77.8% from the free throw line. 

2022-23 NSIC Players of the Week
11/14/22
N: #32 Austin Andrews - Minnesota Duluth
S  #2 Malik Willingham - Minnesota State
11/21/22
N: #23 John Sutherland - Bemidji State
S:  #32 Jordan Janssen - Wayne State
11/28/22
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State
S:  #15 Jake Hilmer - Upper Iowa
12/5/22
N: #24 Charlie Katona- Minnesota Duluth
S: #23 Matt Cartwright - Sioux Falls
12/12/22
N: #32 Austin Andrews - Minnesota Duluth (2)
S: #2 Lucas Duax - Upper Iowa 
12/20/22
N: #22 Drew Blair - Minnesota Duluth
S:  #32 Jordan Janssen - Wayne State (2)
1/3/23
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State (2)
S:  #32 Jordan Janssen - Wayne State (3)
1/9/23
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State (3)
S:  #15 Jake Hilmer - Upper Iowa (2)
1/16/23
N: #23 John Sutherland - Bemidji State (2)
S: #23 Matt Cartwright - Sioux Falls
1/23/23
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State (4) 
S: #10 Dunwa Omot - SMSU
1/30/23
N: #23 John Sutherland - Bemidji State (3)
S:  #15 Jake Hilmer - Upper Iowa (3)
2/6/23
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State (5) 
S: #2 Connor Dillon - Winona State 
2/13/23
N: #5 Sam Masten - Northern State (6)
S:  #32 Jordan Janssen - Wayne State (4)

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 25 team national championships and crowned 96 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.