Men's Basketball: Spartans rain 3s on short-handed Warriors

WILLMAR - Minnesota State-Fergus Falls shot down a short-handed Ridgewater men's basketball team on Wednesday night, hitting 14 3-pointers en route to an 84-77 win at Ridgewater College.

Daviante Ostrander scored 25 points and Niko Oliver added 20 points to lead the Warriors, who fell to 3-8 overall.

Austin Miller and Chris Tungseth were too much to handle on the perimeter, combining for 54 points and 12 of the Spartans 14 triples. Miller led all scorers with 29 points and added six rebounds.

The Warriors jumped out to an early advantage and led by as many as nine points with 9:48 to play in the first half. The Spartans then rattled off a 17-2 run and eventually entered the half with a 45-40 lead.

Fergus held its largest lead of the night at 13 points with 13:13 remaining in the second half. Ridgewater cut the deficit to four points at 81-77 on a 3-pointer by Justin Dierks with 1:25 to play.

But the Warriors were unable to find the bottom of the net after Dierks' triple despite having a chance to cut the lead to one on an Ostrander three attempt with 30 seconds to play.

Xavier Towne posted a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds for Ridgewater, which shot 45.8 percent from the field compared to 52.6 percent for Fergus.

MS-Fergus Falls 84, Ridgewater 77

M-State Fergus Falls 45 39 - 84

Ridgewater 40 37 - 77

M-STATE FERGUS FALLS - Scoring: Austin Miller 29, Samuel Priem 18, Chris Tungseth 25, Isaiah Lemke 1, Aaron Solberg 6, Joel Harris 5 ... 3-point shots: Miller 5, Tungseth 7, Priem 2 ... Rebound leader: Miller 6, Priem 6, Tungseth 6, Solberg 6 ... Assist leader: Priem 6, Lemke 5 ... Steal leader: Four players with two

RIDGEWATER - Scoring: Niko Oliver 20, Avery Palma 4, Justin Dierks 9, Xavier Towne 16, Daviante Ostrander 25, Ray Gant 3 ... 3-point shots: Dierks 3, Ostrander 3 ... Rebound leader: Towne 15, Ostrander 7, Oliver 6 ... Assist leader: Oliver 5, Ostrander 5 ... Steal leader: Ostrander 3, Gant 3

1/6: Ridgewater's Deloran Oliver dunks in Wednesday's game against M State-Fergus Falls at Ridgewater College. Curt Hogg / Tribune

2/6: Ridgewater's Daviante Ostrander shoots a 3-pointer over a M State-Fergus Falls defender during Wednesday's game at Ridgewater College. Curt Hogg / Tribune

3/6: Ridgewater's Xavier Towne passes out of a double team during Wednesday's game against M State-Fergus Falls at Ridgewater College. Curt Hogg / Tribune

4/6: Ridgewater's Deloran Oliver shoots a jump shot during Wednesday's game against M State-Fergus Falls at Ridgewater College. Curt Hogg / Tribune

5/6: Ridgewater's Deloran Oliver shoots a floater in Wednesday's game against M State-Fergus Falls at Ridgewater College. Curt Hogg / Tribune

6/6: Ridgewater's Daviante Ostrander attempts a layup while covered by a M State-Fergus Falls defender during Wednesday's game at Fergus Falls. Curt Hogg / Tribune