There were too many offensive options for Minnesota State, and too few defensive answers for Northern State Friday night at Wachs Arena.

The defending NCAA Division II national champion Mavericks set the tone from the opening whistle and claimed an 87-59 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men’s basketball win on I Hate Winter weekend.

Minnesota State raced out to a 21-4 advantage using a variety of pin-point passing and cuts to the rim and the Wolves never recovered.

“Mankato is the reigning champ for a reason,” said Northern’s Devon Brooke. “They have seasoned veterans. …. They play well together. They’re experienced. That’s what it looks like out there.”

Northern coach Saul Phillips said the current Mavericks remind him of some recent Wolves squads.

“I think back to the Andrew Kallman, Mason Stark, Jordan Belka teams, kind of feeling how teams felt against us,” Phillips said. “The common thread through both those two teams is those are kids that have played together for a lot of games now and had a lot of success, and have a lot of confidence in each other, and we weren’t able to replicate that on our end.”

The Wolves had a strategy entering the contest, but the hot-shooting Mavericks foiled those plans with a variety of offensive weapons.

“We had a game plan going into it and it was working, but there’s only so much you can guard,” Brooke said. “We tried to attack the big. We had our guards playing on the weakside. They had to attack the big and get out to the shooters. That’s a tough job to do, we’re getting late closes. They shot over 50 percent from the field. They were cutting to the rim.”

In short, the Mavericks had a variety of scoring options and made life tough on the NSU defense.

The Wolves’ best chance to get back into the game came in the early moments of the second half. Northern closed to within a dozen points on a Brooke 3-pointer, but Minnesota State quickly extended the margin to 25 points and was never in trouble after that.

Brooke did his part to help the Wolves offense, nailing 5 of 7 three-point shots, some where it seemed like he barely squared up before letting it fly.

“I prefer, even in high school, shooting a little farther away, because guys usually don’t get up as close, so I feel open, even though it’s a little farther,” said Brooke, who attempted one shot while standing on part of the logo that adorns midcourt. “I didn’t make a single shot tonight that was on the line. They were all at least four feet back.”

Brooke finished with 17 points to lead the Wolves, 14 coming in the second half.

“He’s got really great range. … He’s playing better and better as the year goes on,” Phillips said.

Kaleb Mitchell added 15 points for Northern.

Brooke enjoyed the I Hate Winter atmosphere where students lined the baseline right next to the court.

“Coach Phillips said there’s nothing better in D-II basketball than I Hate Winter week, and we totally agree,” Brooke said. “It’s an electric crowd.”

The students kept their energy up the entire way.

“We got down big and they’re still in it,” Brooke said. “After every make, they don’t care, they just want to go out there and have fun.”

The Mavericks definitely noticed the electric atmosphere.

“We were talking to them during the game,” Brooke said, “and they’re like man, your fans are on my butt, and I was like yeah, well, that’s what they do.”

The Wolves dropped to 1-18 on the season and have now lost 15 games in a row. They host Winona State at 4 this afternoon with another big crowd expected.

“They were great tonight and hopefully we give them a little more to cheer about (Saturday) night,” Phillips said of the faithful fans. “They deserved better than tonight and we’re just trying to dig and get wins right now.”

Despite the long losing streak, Brooke said the Wolves are staying positive and not giving up in search of victories. He said the team appreciates the loyal fans who have stuck with them.

“We’re just grateful for this community,” Brooke said. “They come out every night. … They are just the ulitmate support team and we are grateful to be here in Aberdeen.”

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

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2024-25/minnesota-state/boxscore/13722