M State was trailing 88-86 with 40 seconds on the clock and Northland in possession of the basketball. Aaron Solberg went to the corner to double team the ball, forcing a turnover which was recovered by Austin Miller with twenty seconds on the clock.

“We isolated Austin one-on-one on the right side and he hit a step-back 3 with four seconds left on the clock,” said Spartan Head Coach Shawn Sorenson. “Northland missed a shot at the end. It was a very fast paced and physical game for both teams. It came down to needing one stop and one score and our sophomore captains took us home. Aaron with great instincts to trap for the steal and Austin finished it off with a big time shot for the win. We had great support from our Spartan fans and it was a fun game to be a part of.”

Miller poured in 31 points to lead M State. He was joined in double figures by TJ Martin (17), Sam Priem (11) and Solberg (10). Solberg also had 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. Martin and Priem each had 6 assists and 6 rebounds, while Miller added five assists and 4 boards.

Z’Mari Minter led Northland with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Bakri Gubara chipped in with fourteen points. Ken Hawkins and Christian Hortoncontributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Northland shot 50.8% (33-65) from the field, made 40.9% (9-22) of their three’s and connected on 11-of-18 free throws (61.1%).

M State will host Vermilion on Friday night and Mesabi Range on Saturday afternoon.