Mayville can stop one player, but not all
Winkelman and Nelson have career nights as Mayville focuses on Woodside
The game plan of Mayville State head coach Craig Smith was to contain Bison freshmen Ben Woodside, Mike Nelson and Brett Winkelman at the men’s basketball game Friday night.
He thought if his team could do this, they would compete well.
The former Bison assistant coach completed 1/3 of the goal.
Surprisingly, Mayville shut down Woodside, holding the guard to only eight points (0-9 from the field), but the Comets could not slow down Nelson and Winkelman.
“ We felt like he (Woodside) was the best player out there,” Smith said. “But we knew that if we could contain Winkelman and Nelson, we could battle.”
As Smith, Nelson and Winkelman put up career nights, the Bison rolled past Mayville 93-67 in front of 3,019 fans.
With Woodside struggling, Winkelman stepped up and put up his second career double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds — both career highs.
“ Winkelman was awesome,” NDSU head coach Tim Miles said. “I thought it was a dominant performance by him.”
Winkelman came into the game averaging just 11 points per game but caught fire in the second half. After scoring just five points in the opening half, the 6-foot-5-inch forward went on a roll shooting 9-10 from the field in the second.
“ We usually rely on him (Woodside) to score for us,” Winkelman said. “Since he was missing his shots, I wanted to step up.”
Nelson was no slouch either. The freshman scored 22 points and dished out 6 assists, both were tops for his young Bison career.
Early in the first half, the Comets looked like they could contend.
At the 13:18 mark in the first, Mayville’s 6-foot-6-inch center, Archie Witherspoon IV, threw down a two-handed dunk in traffic to put his team within two points of the Bison at 14-12.
“ That dunk was a great wake-up call for our guys,” Miles said. “It really got us back into the game.”
After the slam by Witherspoon, NDSU went on a 15-7 run and gradually gained a lead on the Comets that trickled into the second.
Senior Phil Hahn launched the Bison’s run by nailing three 3-pointers in just over a minute.
Despite Mayville’s inability to contain all the Bison’s freshmen weapons, Smith couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction from their success. A large part of his job as an assistant coach for the Bison was on the recruiting side of the game.
“ I recruited those guys,” Smith said after the game. “With the relationship I developed with them, it’s hard not to be proud. Tim Miles is my mentor, anytime I can see them succeed is a great thing. It is like we are all a family.”
With the win, NDSU clinched its fourth-straight winning season. The Bison have won 10 of their last 13 games and have three remaining on the season.
“ This was a good measuring stick to see where we are at,” Smith said. “Playing these types of games only makes you better and this will do nothing but improve us.”