The Northern State men erased a double-digit deficit down the stretch, but couldn’t convert in the closing minutes as their basketball season came to an end Wednesday night.

The Wolves dropped a 68-64 decision to Minnesota State Moorhead in the opening round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament at Wachs Arena.

While NSU did not score following Joshua Book’s two free throws with two minutes remaining, the Dragons mustered just enough offense to close out the win.

“They made enough plays down the stretch and I credit our guys for not giving in,” said Northern coach Matt Wilber. “We had a chance and things just didn’t go our way down the stretch in the possessions.”

Moorhead went ahead for good with 1:44 left, and both squads missed multiple chances until the Dragons made a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left to ice the victory.

Northern had defeated Moorhead twice by double digits during the regular season.

“It’s definitely tough to beat a team three times in a row,” said Northern’s Marshawn Smith.

It was evident from the opening whistle that the Dragons showed up ready to compete in the postseason encounter.

“They played a lot better. They played a lot harder,” Wilber said of the difference between the regular-season games and Wednesday night. “They played with a lot more purpose than they did the first two times and they did a good job.”

Moorhead was physical on defense and took the Wolves out of their normal rhythm on offense, often forcing tough attempts deep into the shot clock.

“I think that’s partially credit to Moorhead,” said Northern’s James Glenn. “They were pressuring a lot and that took us out of our normal rhythm a little bit.”

Meanwhile, Isa El-Amin was orchestrating the offense for the Dragons, taking people off the dribble for on his way to a game-high 20 points.

“That guy has some wheels on him. He’s real fast,” Smith said. “He’s moving in and out of those ball screens really quick, so you got to stay on your toes.”

Simon Akena topped Northern with 14 points, Book followed with 13, and Glenn finished with 10. Tobi Obiora had nine points and 14 rebounds, while Smith and Nelson Reynolds each added eight points in the balanced attack.

“Our guys fought as hard as they could, rolled with the punches,” Smith said. “Shots weren’t falling like we wanted to, but we tried to stick with it, tried to leave everything out on the floor.”

In the end, the Wolves couldn’t quite get enough stops to keep their season from coming to an end.

“That’s how it goes sometimes,” Glenn said. “We really gave it our all. … We left everything we had on the court and we can be proud of that.”

The Wolves finished the year with a 12-17 record after coming off a one-win season a year ago. This year’s roster included players from New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands.

“Everybody is from all over the globe,” Smith said. “It took us some games to get our momentum, get things together, get meshed.”

And once they did, the Wolves were a factor in the North Division of the NSIC all season.

“I’m just really proud of these guys. It was a great group to work with,” Wilber said. “They really fought and clawed and got after it.”

The contest marked the final game for Glenn, who spent his final two years of eligibility playing for the Wolves.

“It’s been great man. I’m very thankful to be a part of it, very thankful to be a part of this community,” Glenn said. “They just welcomed me, my wife and my daughter with open arms, and I really couldn’t ask for anything more.”

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

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-26/msu-moorhead/boxscore/14651