Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 16, 2007 – The Northwestern College men's basketball team started the 2007-08 season right where they left off the previous season, opening the campaign with a 95-49 win over North Central University in the NWC Tip-Off Tournament. The Eagles were running on all cylinders, as a strong performance by every player in a Northwestern jersey gave the team liftoff as they head into the season.

After an early 5-0 lead by Northwestern, Dan Helstrom scored a basket for North Central to put his team on the board. The Rams' offense was short-lived though, as the Eagles would hold them to those two points until eight minutes had passed, while nearing 20 themselves.

Northwestern continued the first-half trek with their high powered offense, increasing the lead to 40-13 with 4:12 to play, capping off an 11-0 run. Four minutes later, Tim Grosz's squad went into the locker room with a comfortable 51-23 halftime lead.

Senior Josh Strelecki (Crystal Falls, MI/Forest Park) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) nailed three, three-pointers in the first half, giving him a team-leading nine points at the break.

Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, MN/Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) and Steve Discher (Andover, Minn./Andover) (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek) combined for Northwestern's first seven points coming out of the gate in the second half, sparking more offense that gave the Eagles' starters a break for the remainder of the game with 10 minutes left to play.

Cue the Eagles' second five, who still maintained control of the game throughout their time on the court. Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) contributed six points in five minutes, scoring on back-to-back lay-ups with 8:56 to play.

Moving farther down the bench, Josh Williams (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) made the most of his eight minutes on the hard wood, scoring three points while bringing down four rebounds to go with one block.

Northwestern ended the lop-sided 95-49 victory with a fitting finish, as the starters and regular contributors off the bench cheered on those who most-likely won't see much time this season. In all, 46 of NWC's points in the win came from the bench.

In what could be a team record, the Eagles brought down an astounding 62 rebounds in the game, 24 of which were offensive. Northwestern controlled the game under the hoop, scoring 52 points in the paint, compared to 26 for North Central. The Eagles also scored 20 points on second-chance opportunities, while capitalizing on 16 Rams' turnovers to produce 26 points.

Offensively, Northwestern shot a consistent 46.8 percent from the floor, making 18 of their 38 attempts.

Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, MN/Maranatha) tallied 15 points, leading an Eagles' squad that boasted four double-digit scorers on the evening. Mike Anderstrom (Woodbury, MN/New Life Academy) (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) had ten points and eight rebounds, while Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) contributed 12 points off the bench.

Speaking of Hansons, sophomore Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) was equally impressive off the bench, recording his first double-double as a member of the Eagles squad with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

James Lecheler (Abbotsford, WI/Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) added six rebounds and four assists in 11 minutes of play for NWC.

Northwestern won't have long to celebrate the season's first victory, as a powerful Jamestown College team awaits them in the tournament's championship game on Saturday evening. Jamestown, who was pre-ranked No. 9 in the NAIA to begin the year, defeated Grand View 73-61. Game time in the Ericksen Center is set for 7 p.m.