ABERDEEN, S.D. – Minot State University's Tyler Rudolph's (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) career night wasn't enough as Northern State scorched the nets to fend off the Beavers 86-71 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Saturday at Wachs Arena.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Minot State (7-8 overall, 2-7 NISC) and kept the Beavers winless against Northern State since joining the league in 2012-13.

MSU had no answer for NSU's shooting. The Wolves (8-7, 4-5) finished with 12 3-pointers, hitting 52.2 percent from beyond the arc and 57 percent overall from the field. NSU had five players hit at least one 3-pointer and five reached double figures.

"We need to be much better defensively," said MSU head coach Matt Murken. "But, to Northern State's credit, they really took advantage of our mistakes and shot great from behind the arc."

Rudolph was nearly unstoppable, especially on the offensive glass. He finished with 12 offensive rebounds and had a career-high 15 total rebounds, second most in an NSIC game this season. Rudolph finished with a game-high 25 points – also a career high – for his league-leading sixth double-double.

"Tyler played a very good game all around," Murken said. 'He was good on both ends of the court."

It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the game before the Wolves pulled away in the second half. A key stretch came late in the first half as MSU trailed by just two after a Michael Pelo (Sr., G, Charleston, Utah) jumper with 2:05. The Beavers had a chance to tie the game, but turned it over, NSU's Skye Warwick nailed a 3-pointer on the en suing possession and MSU missed three times in the paint on the final possession to make it a five point lead for the Wolves at halftime.

Minot State cut that lead four twice and after a small Wolves run, cut it to five as late as 9:35 to play on a Winston Williams (Sr., F, Plainfield, Ill.) jumper, but the Beavers couldn't close the gap further. NSU hit six 3s in the second half, five coming with less than 12 minutes to play to hold off Minot State.

DJ Pollard led the five Wolves in double figures with 19 points. Carter Evens earned a double-double of his own with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Minot State finished with 20 offensive rebounds powered by Rudolph and outrebounded NSU 38030 overall and 20-8 on the offensive end to have a big 23-9 advantage on second chance points. But NSU outscored MSU 27-9 off the bench and held a 16-10 advantage in points off turnovers as MSU committed 10 turnovers.

Chris Davis (Sr., G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) hit three 3-pointers and finish with 15 points and Nathan Mertens (Jr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) scored 14 point, added four assists and four rebounds in the loss.

Minot State moves on in its schedule for a 6 p.m. matchup at No. 4 ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead Saturday.
 
About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.