Northern Michigan's game against North Dakota State on Saturday was the first of Ricky Volcy's college career.
He would've been forgiven if he were cautious, nervous or faded into the background.
Instead, the Wildcats freshman played like a seasoned veteran.
Volcy scored 19 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining, to lift Northern Michigan to a 60-55 non-conference victory against the NDSU in front of 3,131 fans at the US Bank Classic at the Bison Sports Arena.
"He's going to play a lot of minutes for us," said Wildcats coach Dean Ellis of Volcy. "That 3-pointer was amazing."
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Even more impressive is Volcy called his own number on the play.
"He was getting frustrated because they were all over him in the paint," Ellis said. "So he called for the ball outside. He just stood there as poised as can be.
"It's as good a play as I've seen from a freshman."
As for the Bison, they might not have been close if not for 27 Wildcat turnovers.
NDSU (0-2) shot just 32 percent, including 8 of 28 from the floor in the second half.
The Bison finished just 4 of 26 from the 3-point line.
"I was disappointed with our body language," NDSU coach Tim Miles said. "I don't think we played with the enthusiasm it takes to be successful. We've got to play with some spark and some energy and I didn't see that tonight."
The Wildcats (1-0) went ahead 54-46 on a Louie Koskey 3-pointer with 9:12 remaining.
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The Bison eventually tied the game at 55-55, despite scoring just one point during a six-minute span in the middle of the second half.
But Volcy's heroics sealed the Bison's fate.
"I think we just have to relax," Bison guard CoCo Cofield said. "Even though the shots weren't falling today, it doesn't mean their not going to fall tommorow."
Cofield led the Bison with 13 points.
The Wildcats outrebounded the Bison 42-31.
Senior forward Steve Watts gave Northern Michigan a 33-29 lead with a short jumper just before halftime.
The Bison, who shot just 35 percent in the first half, were just 2 of 14 from 3-point range before the intermission.
Although the NDSU offense was slow to heat up, several players contributed to the cause.
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Senior guard CoCo Cofield and freshman Brandon Smith each had five points to lead the Bison. Three others had four points at the break.
Northern Michigan, which shot 46 percent from the floor, received 11 points and five rebounds from 6-foot-5 freshman forward Ricky Volcy.
The Bison were held scoreless for the final 1:19 of the first half.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN (1-0 overall, 0-0 GLAIC): Azanjac 1-5 2-6 4, Hyppolite 1-2 1-2 4, Noel 2-2 0-0 4, M. Volcy 0-0 3-8 3, Hill 1-4 0-0 2, Watts 4-8 2-2 10, Holt 3-4 2-3 8, Koskey 2-2 0-1 6, LePage 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, R. Volcy 8-15 1-3 19, Kabat 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 11-25 60.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE (0-2, 0-0): Witt 0-4 0-0 0, Cofield 5-18 2-3 13, A. Green 0-2 2-2 2, Banks 3-3 0-0 6, Kelchen 1-2 0-0 2, Nemmers 1-8 2-2 5, Smith 4-6 1-2 10, M. Green 1-6 2-2 4, Theis 1-1 0-0 3, May 1-2 0-0 2, Erbes 1-5 6-10 8. Totals 18-57 15-21 55.
Halftime: NMU 33, NDSU 29. 3-point goals: NMU 5-16 (Hyppolite 1-2, Hill 0-1, Watts 0-2, Holt 0-1, Koskey 2-2, LaPage 0-1, R. Volcy 2-6, Kabat 0-1), NDSU 4-26 (Witt 0-4, Cofield 1-7, Nemmers 1-7, Smith 1-3, M. Green 0-4, Theis 1-1). Total fouls: NMU 24, NDSU 18. Fouled out: M. Green. Rebounds: NMU 42 (R. Volcy 11), NDSU 31 (Erbes 9). Assists: NMU 7 (Noel, Kosky 2), NDSU 5 (Cofield 2). Turnovers: NMU 27 (Holt 5), NDSU 14 (Witt 5). Steals: NMU 7 (R. Volcy 3), NDSU 10 (Cofield 4).
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562
