ABERDEEN, S.D.--Northern State guard Levi Hamilton had 14 points and 10 rebounds and led five different players in double figures scoring as the Wolves cruised past the Fighting Sioux 86-62 tonight in front of 3,154 at Wachs Arena.
The loss leaves UND winless through the first three games of the season.
Hamilton and the Wolves wasted no time jumping on the Sioux in this one, racing out to a nine-point lead before the game was a minute old and stretching the gap to 19 points by halftime. The Wolves landed the big blows from 3-point range, going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, while forcing the Sioux into 13 first-half turnovers.
Northern State also established an early edge on the glass, pulling down eight offensive rebounds.
Searching for momentum, the Sioux opened the second half with three changes to the starting lineup ? swapping Jimmy Hoy (Sr., West Fargo, N.D.), Wes Porter (Jr., Arvada, Colo.) and Denny Dumas (Fr., Surrey, B.C.) for starters Emmanuel Little (Sr., Chicago, Ill.), Ervin Youmans (Sr., Hobbs, N.M.) and Travis Bledsoe (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) ? but UND was never able to put together an extended run at the deficit.
When Hoy knocked down a jumper 28 seconds into the half to make it 40-23, that 17-point deficit would be as close as the Sioux would come the rest of the night. The Wolves immediately countered with a 9-0 run that quickly extinguished any hope of a Sioux rally.
Kevin Ratzsch led the Wolves with 15 points and was joined in double digits by Hamilton, Robert Thomas (13 points), Craig Nelson (12) and Derek Hoellein (10).
Little led all players with 17 points and added nine rebounds, the majority of his points coming on an 11-for-17 performance from the free throw line.
Bledsoe was UND's next highest scorer with nine points.
The Sioux now return home for the first time this season and will host the UND Thanksgiving Classic next weekend. UND will face Minnesota, Crookston at 6 p.m., following the opener between Montevallo and Western Oregon.
The two winners will meet in the tournament championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m., with the losers meeting in the consolation game at 4 p.m.
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