Northern State went back to its old home to pick up a much needed win.
The NSU men's basketball team took down Minot State 79-60 on Friday at legendary Aberdeen Civic Arena in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference college game. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Wolves.
"It is a big win for us and it gets us back on track," NSU freshman guard Skye Warwick said.
The game was played at the historic venue due to the State B wrestling tournament being held at Wachs Arena. NSU played its home games at the downtown arena from the 1940s until 1987.
The Wolves did have to play a game at the Civic Arena in February 2003 against Morningside College, due to another scheduling conflict with Wachs Arena. NSU coach Paul Sather was an assistant for the Wolves at the time.
"It is such a cool environment," NSU coach Paul Sather said about the Civic Arena. "It is a lot of fun."
And the Wolves were having most of the fun on Friday. NSU never trailed, led by as much as 23 points, drilled 11 three-pointers and got 34 points from its bench. Forward Collin Pryor paced the Wolves with 16 points and eight rebounds. Warwick added 15 points, all of them on three-pointers. Jared Hannigan added 11 points, including two three-pointers. Mitch White, Geoffrey Firmin, Mack Arvidson and Michael Emge all had a three-pointer on the night.
"We shot the ball great tonight," Warwick said.
Warwick's father, Shane, played for the Wolves from 1985-88. Shane, who played a majority of his home games at the Civic Arena, was in attendance on Friday.
"He said it was always packed when he was playing here and it was always a fun environment," Skye said. "I'm sure it brought back memories for him."
Skye created some memories of his own. Warwick nailed three of his treys in the first half to help the Wolves stake a 33-28 lead at halftime. The Wolves had six of their 11 three-pointers in the first half.
"It is fun basketball," Sather said. "It is fun to watch. It is fun to play."
NSU stretched its lead to double figures just four minutes into the second half. The Wolves then built their lead to as much as 63-40 with eight minutes and 13 seconds left and coasted to the victory.
"I thought we played with a lot of fight tonight," Sather said. "I thought we played as a team tonight."
With the win, the Wolves clinch the second seed in the NSIC North Division standings. The Wolves also secured two home playoff games with the win. NSU (18-10, 13-8) will play at its old stomping grounds one more time. The Wolves will host the University of Mary at 7 p.m. tonight at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.
"We have one more chance to play in here," Sather said. "Then we have some home playoff games. We are in a great situation. We just have to understand we have to work so hard to take advantage of it."
MINOT STATE (10-15, 9-12 NSIC): Dominique McDonald 3-8 1-2 8, E.J. Williams 5-11 2-2 14, Adam Randall 2-7 2-4 7, Anthony Enriquez 1-7 2-4 5, Josh Johnson 4-13 1-2 9, Isiah Gandy 0-2 2-2 2, Dan Yale 0-1 0-0, Chris East 2-4 0-0 4, Thomas Korf 2-5 0-0 6, Jesse Crosby 1-1 0-0 2, Matt Yale 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 22-61 10-16 61.
NORTHERN STATE (18-10, 13-8 NSIC): Mitch White 2-6 0-0 5, Jared Hannigan 4-8 1-1 11, Geoffrey Firmin 1-3 6-11 9, Collin Pryor 5-9 6-7 16, Dustin Tetzlaff 1-2 2-4 4, Skye Warwick 5-10 0-0 15, Mack Arvidson 1-4 3-4 6, Michael Emge 3-8 2-4 9, Jeff Tobin 1-1 0-0 2, Trent Zomer 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-54 20-31 79.
Halftime score -- NSU 33-28. 3-point field goals -- MSU 7-22 (McDonald 1-4, Williams 2-3, Randall 1-2, Enriquez 1-2, Johnson 0-3, D. Yale 0-1, Korf 2-5); NSU 11-27 (White 1-3, Hannigan 2-5, Firmin 1-3, Warwick 5-9, Arvidson 1-4, Emge 1-3). Total fouls -- MSU 21; NSU15. Fouled out -- MSU, Johnson, East. Rebounds -- MSU 40 (Johnson 6, East 6); NSU 42 (Pryor 8). Assists -- MSU 9 (Randall 4); NSU 18 (Zomer 5). Blocks -- MSU 3 (Randall 1, Johnson 1, Gandy 1); NSU 2 (Tetzlaff 2). Steals -- MSU 11 (Williams 3, Enriquez 3); NSU 5 (Firmin 2, Tetzlaff 2). Turnovers -- MSU 15; NSU 16. Officials -- Pete Hansen, Justin Ingalls, Eric Donat. A -- 2,432.