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Men clinch tie for NCC
Men's basketball team clinches first NCC title since 1987-88 season with win over UNO
 Media Credit: Adam Masloski SCSU�s Steve Trull goes up for a shot over UNC�s Ari Zandman- Zeman Thursday night. The Huskies clinched at least a share of the NCC title over the weekend.
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The SCSU men's basketball team did something Saturday they haven't done in 15 years.
That something was clinch at least a tie for the NCC title with their 85-68 shellacking of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks in front of 2,200 fans in Omaha. The Huskies (22-4, 12-3 NCC), ranked second in the North Central Region poll, won their first conference title since the 1987-88 season and their fourth since joining the NCC in 1982. SCSU can win the title outright with a victory over North Dakota State University on Thursday in Fargo.
Point guard Alex Carlson led a second half splurge that led St. Cloud to the win. UNO jumped out to a 44-40 lead with 13 minutes left in the second on the strength of three Seth Nelson three-pointers. However, the Huskies countered with a 14-1 run to take a 54-45 lead. Carlson hit three from downtown in a one-and-a-half minute slate, his last which started the spurt.
The Husky lead would swell to as many as 18 points, but never went down past seven. It was only the second loss of the season for the Mavs at Sapp Fieldhouse. Carlson led SCSU with 23 points, with 17 coming in the second. The 6-foot-2 junior from Litchfield also led the team with seven rebounds.
"He's one of the best competitors I've ever seen, and the tougher the game, the better off he is," SCSU head coach Kevin Schlagel told the Omaha World-Herald about Carlson. "He took over the game for a little stretch and matched Seth Nelson, who was starting to do that for UNO. He answered that big-time, and to me that was the difference in the game."
Senior forward Jason Kron chipped in 16 points, sophomore Nate Miller 15 and senior center Cullen Powers added 10. Nelson led UNO with 15 points with center Adam Wetzel up next with 14.
SCSU shot 66.7 percent in the second half to put the Mavs away for good. UNO head coach Kevin McKenna gave praise to SCSU for their savvy on the road.
"That's a good team we played tonight," McKenna told the World-Herald. "They're tough. Their toughness on the road shows in their record (10-1 away from Halenbeck Hall)."
"They're a tough team," Nelson added. "They never quit for the whole 40 minutes. That's something we haven't been able to do all year."
On Thursday SCSU dismantled the University of Northern Colorado Bears 79-67 in front of 2,982 fans at Halenbeck. The Huskies forced the Bears into 19 turnovers, 14 coming before halftime. SCSU used a 16-6 run before halftime to take a 42-31 lead. The Huskies would up their lead to as many as 22 points in the second half in a game that was never really that close.
Sean Nolen led UNC with 18 points. Senior center Brent Frikken led SCSU with 13 points. Kron and Carlson added 12 apiece. However, the night belonged to senior Forrest Witt.
Witt moved into second place on the all-time SCSU scoring list with his dozen points. He now has 1,699 career points and still leads SCSU all-time in three-pointers made with 229. He only trails Dan Hagen (1977-81) on the all-time list. Hagen had 2,136 career points for the Huskies, something which Witt most likely won't catch by the end of this, his senior season.
"It's a nice compliment, but there are so many more aspects to this game," Witt said of moving up on the chart. "Scoring is just one of the many. I've tried to be a more well-rounded player over the course of my career and not be known for just scoring."
"He (Witt) is one of the most unselfish players I've ever been around," Schlagel said about his team's leading scorer. "We've encouraged him for four years to shoot the ball more. For him to move into second on that list, he's bypassed some awfully great players. He's certainly one of the best we've ever had."
Around the Rim
-Witt was named to the 2003 Verizon All-District V College Division Men's Basketball First Team on Thursday. The Verizon Academic All-America Team is selected by members of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Director's of America).
-The Huskies have won seven of the past eight meetings against the Bears. They now own a 31-15 all-time record against UNC.
-The only scenario in which the Huskies would have to share the NCC title is if they lose to NDSU Thursday and South Dakota State wins both their remaining games against UNO and UNC. Both games are at Frost Arena in Brookings.
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