Northern State has been busy.
The Wolves pulled away from Dickinson State 81-64 on Sunday afternoon at Wachs Arena in a non-conference men's basketball game.
The game was NSU's fifth game in the last nine days to start the regular season. The Wolves have one more non-conference game before they start their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule.
"This league is a grind and we are going to have stretches where it is grind," NSU coach Paul Sather said. "It has been good for us to go through this."
Jared Hannigan came off the bench to score a game-high 15 points. Trent Zomer added 14 points and seven rebounds. Skye Warwick tossed in 11 points. And just like its last game against Dakota State, all 10 NSU players that played scored. However, the Wolves' defense is still the point of emphasis, said Sather.
"Like I told our guys, it is not about our offense," Sather said. "We are going to have challenges offensively. We are going to have nights where its not just falling and whether we are great offensively or not so good offensively, we have got to be able to count on our defense."
The Wolves led 56-40 at halftime as both team's shot over 58 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. NSU made seven of its eight three-pointers in the first half.
"It is fun to play out there with guys that are making extra passes and easy passes, so that different guys could be out there in double figures every night," said Hannigan, who drilled three three-pointers.
NSU could not keep up its offensive surge in final 20 minutes, and neither could the Blue Hawks. The Wolves limited Dickinson State to only eight made field goals on 29 attempts in the second half.
"Holding them to 27 percent in the second half, that's better, but too many second shot opportunities," Sather said. "I think they had eight offensive boards in the second half and we just got sloppy with the ball. I think we had three or four turnovers in the last five minutes of the game that just shouldn't have happened."
NSU outscored Dickinson 25-24 in the second half. The Wolves had 10 steals, including eight in the first half. NSU scored 19 points off of 17 Dickinson State turnovers.
"I like when we have these type of games," Hannigan said. "Where we can work on these types of things and in conference, yes, we have to step up and start making some plays defensively."
Mackenson Odenier paced Dickinson State with 11 points. Michael Schreiber added nine points and four boards off the bench for the Wolves.
NSU sophomore guard Mack Arvidson did not play in the second half after sustaining a leg injury late in the first half. Sather did not know the extent of the injury after the game.
The Wolves were still without freshman center Carter Evans, who was out with an ankle injury. Sather said the 6-foot-10 Evans could possibly start practice this week.
Northern State (4-1) will not play again until Nov. 25 when it hosts Mayville State at 8 p.m. at Wachs Arena. The NSU and Mayville State women will play before the men's game.
"It is going to be nice to take a day or two to relax and get our feet back under us," Hannigan said, "and we definitely have to start grinding again this next week and keep getting better defensively."
DICKINSON STATE (0-3): Ty Ackelson 3-5 1-4 9, Robbie Morey 2-4 0-0 6, Phillip Johnson 1-5 4-4 6, Tevin Russell 1-3 0-0 2, Mackenson Odenier 4-11 3-3 11, Jeremy Beehler 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Torgerson 3-3 1-2 8, Juston Goodwin 0-4 0-0 0, DeSean Atkins 0-1 1-2 1, Brock Boos 1-3 0-0 3, Isaiah Thomas 2-2 0-1 4, Marko Potkonjak 1-2 0-1 3, Jacob Volk 3-7 1-1 9, Sean Kelly 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 22-53 11-19 64.
NORTHERN STATE (4-1): Mitch White 1-2 0-1 2, Seth Bachand 2-3 4-6 8, Mack Arvidson 1-4 1-2 4, Trent Zomer 5-11 4-7 14, Skye Warwick 4-10 1-1 1, Jared Hannigan 6-9 0-0 15, Tydan Storrusten 3-4 1-2 7, Spencer Pankonin 2-4 0-0 5, Darin Peterka 2-5 1-2 6, Michael Schreiber 4-6 1-2 9. Totals 30-58 13-23 81.
Halftime score - Northern State 56-40. 3-point field goals - Dickinson State 9-17 (Ackelson 2-2, Morey 2-2, Johnson 0-2, Russell 0-2, Torgerson 1-1, Boos 1-3, Potkonjak 1-2, Volk 2-3); Northern State 8-21 (Arvidson 1-2, Zomer 0-1, Warwick 2-7, Hannigan 3-5, Storrusten 0-1, Pankonin 1-3, Peterka 1-2). Total fouls - Dickinson State 20; Northern State 19. Fouled out - Dickinson State, Johnson; Northern State, Schreiber. Rebounds - Dickinson State 31 (Torgerson 3, Volk 3, Kelly 3, Goodwin 3); Northern State 38 (Zomer 7). Assists - Dickinson State 6 (Volk 3); Northern State 14 (Zomer 3). Blocks - Dickinson State 3 (Beehler 1, Potkonjak 1, Kelly 1); Northern State 3 (Bachand 1, Zomer 1, Schreiber 1). Steals - Dickinson State 4 (Volk 2); Northern State 10 (Bachand 2, Hannigan 2, Storrusten 2, Peterka 2). Turnovers - Dickinson State 17; Northern State 12. Officials - Justin Ingalls, Al Monaco, Doug Vatona. A - 1,701.
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