N orthern State's offensive explosion in the second half buried Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday.
The Wolves pulled away from Crookston in the final 20 minutes en route to a 66-47 win over the Golden Eagles at Wachs Arena in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's college basketball game.
"We really executed what we wanted to," NSU sophomore guard Michael Emge said about the second half. "Everything just worked out. We kept them off the glass. We got stops and that helped build our run."
The sharpshooting Emge had another stellar game with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers. Dustin Tetzlaff, who has been hampered by an ankle injury, returned to form with 14 points and nine boards to help fuel the win.
"It was good to see him get back from that injury a little bit," NSU coach Paul Sather said about Tetzlaff. "He did some nice things. He was active on the glass. Kind of like the same old Tetz, so it was good to see that."
The Wolves held a slim 26-20 lead at halftime. Northern went on a 22-11 run through the first 10 minutes of the second half to grab a firm 48-31 lead.
"I thought we were doing good things defensively," Sather said about the first half. "I just thought we weren't us offensively. We have had it this year where we have showed really good flashes throughout games and we have stretches where we don't play offensively the way we can and should. In the second half we started running better. We were looking to get stops and running."
Northern's lead never dipped below 15 points the rest of the game and it led by as much as 24 points late in the contest. The Wolves turned 14 Golden Eagles' turnovers into 16 points. NSU dominated the boards with a 40-18 advantage in the rebounding category.
"We really emphasized running and pushing the ball and eventually it worked," said Emge, who added five rebounds.
The big lead also allowed starters to get some rest and allowed reserves to get more playing time. Eleven players played for the Wolves. Reserve forward Trent Zomer added 11 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Collin Pryor and Geoffrey Firmin tossed in eight points apiece.
"The guys did a nice job," Sather said. "It was a physical game. It wasn't the cleanest game in the world and some games are like that. I thought in the second half we responded much better to it."
Northern State (11-3, 6-1) has won 11 of its last 12 games and are riding a four-game winning streak. Eight of those games were at Wachs Arena. The Wolves will play seven of their next nine games on the road.
"It is going to be a big test," Emge said. "Especially in this conference on the road."
MINNESOTA-CROOKSTON (3-8 0-7 NSIC): Almir Krdzalic 2-8 2-2 6, Broderick Schmidt 1-1 0-0 2, Justin Rake 2-6 2-2 6, James Sparkman 1-8 1-2 3, Brandon Burns 1-5 0-0 2, Derrick Redd 1-1 0-0 2, Ashton Harrell 3-6 2-2 8, Mike Paulson 0-0 0-0 0, Abdou Niang 2-2 2-2 8, Tim Lubke 2-5 2-2 8, Tomas Parker 1-2 0-1 2. Total 16-44 11-13 47.
NORTHERN STATE (11-3 6-1): Mitch White 0-0 0-2 0, Geoffrey Firmin 4-6 0-0 8, Michael Emge 5-9 0-0 13, Collin Pryor 4-7 0-0 8, Dustin Tetzlaff 4-7 6-10 14, Skye Warwick 2-5 0-0 6, Jared Hannigan 0-1 0-0 0, Mack Arvidson 1-4 0-0 3, Jeff Tobin 0-1 0-0 0, Trent Zomer 4-5 3-4 11, Seth Bachand 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 25-50 10-18 66.
Halftime score -- NSU 26-20. 3-point field goals -- UMC 4-16 (Krdzalic 0-1, Harrell 0-1, Niang 2-2, Rake 0-2, Lubke 2-5, Sparkman 0-3, Burns 0-2); NSU 6-15 (Warwick 2-5, Hannigan 0-1, Arvidson 1-3, Emge 3-4, Tobin 0-1, Zomer 0-1). Total fouls -- UMC 16; NSU 15. Fouled out -- No one. Rebounds -- UMC 18 (Sparkman 5); NSU 40 (Tetzlaff 9). Assists -- UMC 6 (Krdzalic 5); NSU 17 (White 4). Blocks -- UMC 3 (Schmidt 1, Sparkman 1, Burns 1); NSU 1 (Zomer 1). Steals -- UMC 5 (Harrell 2); NSU 5 (Arvidson 2). Turnovers -- UMC 14; NSU 16. Officials -- Bill Fisher, Levi Pearson, Darin Perius. A -- 1,954.