Northern State took out some frustration on the University of Sioux Falls.
One night after losing a heart-breaker to Southwest Minnesota State, the Wolves dominated the Cougars 74-60 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball game at Wachs Arena.
Collin Pryor led the Wolves with 17 points and eight rebounds. Pryor is now tied with Ross Pankratz for 22nd on the NSU all-time scoring list with 1,255 career points. Pryor made a living at the free throw line on Saturday as he made 15 of his 17 points from the charity stripe.
True freshman Mack Arvidson ignited the home crowd with 17 points off the bench. He drilled three three-pointers and had a slam dunk with over a minute to play to put an exclamation point on a fun night for the Wolves.
"I thought we played hard," Northern State coach Paul Sather said. "I thought Sioux Falls played hard. They are a well-coached team. They played their butt off."
Starter Geoffrey Firmin added 11 points for the Wolves. The Wolves' bench played huge in the win. The NSU bench outscored USF's bench 34-13. Reserve Seth Bachand added nine points, drew two charges and also had a dunk in the second half. True freshman Skye Warwick added eight points, including two three-pointers. His three-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer put NSU ahead 37-28 at the break.
"That was nice," Arvidson said about the buzzer beater. "I knew he had the ball and I was really hoping he would shoot it, and he did. It was a good way to end it. That is for sure."
It was the second night in a row that Warwick drilled a three-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer. Warwick's buzzer beater on Saturday came after Arvidson canned back-to-back threes to extend NSU's four-point lead to 34-24 with 1:38 left in the first half.
"Mack and Skye have done an unbelievable job with their attitude and their effort and what they bring to this team," Sather said. "Those two guys in the first half kept us in the game."
Arvidson scored 11 points the night before in a 62-61 loss against Southwest. He had 10 points at the half against the Cougars. It was a nice game for the freshman that has had his share of ups and downs during the conference season.
"I just wanted to come out this weekend -- especially because it has been a little bit down the last couple of weekends -- and work hard and fly out all over the place and hopefully make some shots," Arvidson said.
The Wolves stretched their halftime lead to double digits and held a comfortable margin the rest of the game. NSU finished 20-for-34 from the field in the game, including 6-for-8 from the three-point line. Arvidson and Warwick accounted for five of the treys.
"He is a great shooter," Arvidson said about Warwick. "When we are both hot, coach just wants us to keep shooting."
David Maxwell netted 14 points for Sioux Falls. James Rader added 10 points for the Cougars. It was the first time the two South Dakota schools have played since the 2004-05 season. The Cougars are new to the NSIC this season.
With the win, the Wolves eclipse last season's win total. The Wolves improve to 14-5 overall and 9-3 in conference play. NSU and St. Cloud State are tied atop the NSIC North Division standings with identical 9-3 records. The Wolves will now go on the road for the next four games. NSU will play at Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State on Friday and Saturday respectively. The Wolves defeated both teams earlier in the season at Wachs Arena.
"This is where we have to be thriving," Sather said about the second half of the conference season. "We have depth. We are using it. There is no reason why we shouldn't be taking care of ourselves and putting ourselves in a position to play for something."
SIOUX FALLS (7-9, 3-9): A.J. Holland 3-9 0-0 6, Derek Brown 2-7 3-4 8, Keaton Moffitt 3-4 1-2 9, James Rader 4-11 2-3 10, David Maxwell 5-7 3-3 14, Jerry Dixon 1-2 2-3 4, Alex Robey 0-1 2-2 2, Robert Goffney 1-4 4-7 6, Bill Freeman 0-1 1-2 1, Bryan Kielpinski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 18-26 60.
NORTHERN STATE (14-5, 9-3): Mitch White 1-1 1-2 3, Geoffrey Firmin 3-6 4-4 11, Michael Emge 0-3 0-0 0, Collin Pryor 1-4 15-17 17, Dustin Tetzlaff 3-5 3-5 9, Skye Warwick 3-3 0-0 8, Jared Hannigan 0-1 0-0 0, Mack Arvidson 5-6 4-4 17, Trent Zomer 0-0 0-0 0, Seth Bachand 4-5 1-1 9. Totals 20-34 28-33 74.
Halftime score -- Northern 37-28. 3-point field goals -- Sioux Falls 4-18 (Holland 0-4, Brown 1-4, Moffitt 2-3, Rader 0-2, Maxwell 1-2, Robey 0-1, Goffney 0-2); Northern 6-8 (Firmin 1-1, Emge 0-1, Warwick 2-2, Arvidson 3-4). Total fouls -- Sioux Falls 25; Northern 23. Fouled out -- Sioux Falls, Moffitt; Northern, None. Rebounds -- Sioux Falls 25 (Holland 4, Rader 4); Northern 23 (Pryor 8). Assists -- Sioux Falls 6 (Holland 2); Northern 12 (White 4, Pryor 4). Blocks -- Sioux Falls 0; Northern 4 (Tetzlaff 2). Steals -- Sioux Falls 7 (Goffney 3); Northern 7 (Tetzlaff 3). Turnovers -- Sioux Falls 13; Northern 14. Officials -- Al Monaco, Doug Votava, Levi Pearson. A -- 3,813.