It happened again.

Less than two weeks after rallying from a double-digit deficit to pull off an improbable win, the Northern State Wolves were back at it, this time working their late-game magic against Southwest Minnesota State.

Sam Masten put the exclamation point on a furious comeback with a game-winning layup with 4.2 seconds left to lift Northern to a 69-68 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men’s basketball win at Wachs Arena.

The Wolves trailed by 18 points with less than nine minutes remaining before Masten absolutely went off. The point-guard exploded for 20 points in less than six minutes to erase the deficit and put Northern in front. Included in his scoring barrage was four three-point field goals.

Masten said he had to go back a long way to recall a time he was in a shooting zone like that.

“It’s been a long time, maybe like eighth grade sometime in like a back gym, but never in setting like that, so it was cool for my confidence,” Masten said. “I was struggling shooting the ball for a little while, so to see a couple go down was really cool. You see a couple go through the net and all of sudden you want it. You’ve put in so much time you want to take that shot. You want to see it go down. Thankfully they were falling there for a little while, which is good.”

The Wolves still needed one more play from Masten after the Mustangs converted a three-point play with 10 seconds left to give them a one-point lead.

Masten was up to the challenge, beating his defender off the dribble for his game-winning shot.

“We drew up a play where there’s four or five different reads I could have made, and I just started going left and saw the sea kind of part,” Masten said. “I saw an opening and took it to the basket. When I laid it in I was worried I was going too fast. I thought I might have missed it hard and thankfully it went in.”

Masten finished with 30 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.

“Sam is a special player, a special kid and a great leader,” said Northern coach Saul Phillips. “He knew we needed a win tonight.”

The Wolves spent the majority of the game trying to crawl out of an early hole. Northern managed just six points in the first 10 minutes and fell behind by 14 points.

Masten said the squad never gave up belief that it could turn things around.

“It was just one of those games where we talked about staying together, staying in it no matter what,” Masten said. “Shots weren’t falling for the first probably 33 minutes of that game and then the last seven minutes you knew the dam was going to break eventually. We trusted in each other and we finally started making shots and it just all worked out from there.”

Northern not only got going on offense, but the Wolves began to get stops on defense. The hosts held the Mustangs to just two points in more than seven and a half minutes as they got back into the game.

Included in that stretch were two key charges taken on Southwest standout Kenny Byers, who fouled out of the game on the last one with 2:15 left.

“That shows a lot of resolve out of our kids,” Phillips said. “It’s not the most glamorous job stepping in taking charges.”

Mastern said Northern’s effort on the defensive end involved the squad coming together and helping each other out.

“I think it turned into more of a team effort. We were leaving guys out to dry, guarding one on one, and we started to help off guys a little bit and play more collective team defense, and I think it forced them into some tough shots,” Masten said. “And then the crowd, the environment and all of that took over and we got timely stops when we needed to.”

Jordan Belka added 16 points to the Northern total and Jacksen Moni had eight.

The Wolves got a big boost off the bench from Carter Lancaster who scored seven points and gave the squad a burst of energy.

“He’s had to wait for his turn a little bit, but he certainly answered the bell,” Phillips said. “We have to find a place for him (today against Sioux Falls), because he gave us a big spark when we were dead in the water.”

Jake Phipps led the Mustangs with 24 points and Byers added 20.

The Wolves, 11-8 overall and 5-6 in the NSIC, host Sioux Falls at 4 this afternoon.

Phillips wouldn’t mind less dramatic finishes in the future.

“Let’s not do this anymore. I’m done. Let’s win one the conventional way,” Phillips said with a smile. “We needed a dub. We got it done. I’m extremely happy.”

To see a complete box score, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2021-22/southwest-minnesota-state-faculty-appreciation-/boxscore/9319