After back-to-back road losses last week, the Northern State men’s basketball team knew what was at stake Thursday night at Wachs Arena.

The Wolves responded with a 71-63 victory over Mary in a race for playoff position in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

“Our guys knew we needed to win for what we want to get done,” said Wolves coach Matt Wilber, referring to an opportunity to host a postseason game next week during the NSIC tourney.

Wilber said winning at home is not an easy thing to do, because opponents get amped up to play at Wachs Arena.

“We’re never going to get an egg from an opposing team,” Wilber said, “because this is the best gym to play in in the Northern Sun. … It’s a great gym. Teams that come on the road, they come here and they’re going to be ready to go.”

The two teams battled to an even first half before the Wolves took control in the final 20 minutes.

Northern steadily built a lead and appeared to be firmly in command with a 66-52 advantage with six minutes remaining. However, the Marauders scored nine unanswered points to slice the deficit to just five points with 3:28 left.

Following an NSU time out, Simon Akena scored and got fouled for a traditional three-point play to reestablish momentum.

“Five-point game and Simon came out and got an and-one,” Wilber said. “That was a big boy response from us, where nobody felt good, we got the ball where we wanted and he got a finish and an and-one, and then that stretched it back out.”

Akena found a groove in the second half, scoring on three straight possessions, including a pair of mid-range jumpers.

“We just had to grind it out and we did that,” Akena said. “We found what we were looking for. We found it in the high post and we found shooters.”

And Akena found success in his mid-range game.

“I had it rolling, so we just kept looking for it, and it kept going in,” Akena said, “so it worked well for us. I’m glad it did.”

Northern received contributions of some sort from everyone that stepped on the floor.

“It was wildly good team game,” Wilber said. “Everybody I put in contributed.”

Joshua Book led the Wolves with 18 points, while James Glenn and Akena each finished with 13. Tobi Obiora contributed nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

“I’m obviously stronger than the people on the other team,” Obiora said, “so I did a god job rebounding and getting under the basket.”

Benjamin Bowen added eight points to the NSU total.

While the Wolves were efficient on offense, it was the defense that received the credit for the crucial win.

“We had 20 assists on 26 baskets, which we love that, against a zone that’s probably what it should look like,” Wilber said, “but our defense was the name of the game here. We held those guys to about 10 points under their average.”

Northern, 11-16 overall and 11-10 in the NSIC, is currently tied for seventh in the overall playoff race. A top eight spot would ensure a home playoff game next Wednesday, making Saturday’s regular-season finale at Minot a huge game.

“It’s got a lot of meaning,” Wilber said, “and Minot put it on us as bad as anybody did. … That’s going to be as tough a game as we’ve got this year and there’s a lot riding on it.”

And unlike teams who come to Wachs Arena, the Wolves will play in a much different environment at Minot.

“It’s a big arena,” Obiora said. “I heard not a lot of people in there though, so we got to bring our own energy and do everything we can to win the game.”

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

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-26/umary/boxscore/14130