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In a game full of ups and downs for both teams, Northern State managed the final climb in a rollercoaster of a semifinal Friday night in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men’s basketball tournament.
Northern State, ranked No. 4 in the country, scored with 13.8 seconds remaining to break a tie and forced a turnover at the other end to secure a 74-70 victory over Southwest Minnesota State.
The second-seeded Wolves (27-2) advance to the NSIC championship at 7 p.m. tonight at McCown Gymnasium. They will face No. 1 seed Winona State.
“We were fortunate to get out of it alive,” Northern State coach Don Meyer said. “We didn’t play very well.”
Kevin Ratzsch, a first-team all-NSIC selection, converted a layup with 13.8 seconds to play that gave Northern State a 72-70 lead.
Ratzsch, who did not start and was held scoreless the first half, lost control of the ball on his way to the basket, but regained control alone in front of the basket. He finished with 14 points.
Southwest (17-12) did not call timeout and guard Ryan Krome dribbled the ball off his foot with less than five seconds remaining. Northern’s Dan DeWitt came up with the loose ball and called timeout.
Craig Nelson was fouled immediately on the inbounds pass and sealed the Wolves’ win with a pair of free throws.
Southwest jumped to a 10-point lead early, holding leads of 12-2 and 14-4. The Mustangs led 25-16 midway through the first half when they suddenly went cold.
Northern took advantage, using a 16-0 run over an eight-minute stretch to grab a 32-25 lead. The Wolves led 34-30 at halftime.
Southwest eventually found itself down 59-45 with 9:25 to play when Ratzsch hit a layup and 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions.
The Mustangs fought back with a 16-3 run to get within 62-61 with 3:23 remaining. Kevin Andrews tied the game 70-70 with 30 seconds to play when he tipped in a miss by Krome at the free-throw line.
“I thought Southwest played very well and very hard,” Meyer said. “They got off to a fast start, but we didn’t come out very well defensively. They’re hard to play against. They play well against us.”
Nelson led Northern with 21 points, while Robert Thomas had 13 and Luke Wicks 10. Travis Krenske had 14 points to lead the Mustangs, while Ross DeMasi added 12 and Taylor Huseby 11.
The season may not yet be over for Southwest, which was ranked No. 8 in the North Central Region. No. 9 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 10 Adams State (Colo.) both lost in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.
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