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Men's Basketball

Men's Hoops stays perfect with 74-62 win over Hamline

Box Score

ST. PAUL (Dec. 1, 2008) – After a flawless November, the Northwestern College men's basketball team started December on the right foot, defeating Snelling Avenue foe Hamline University 74-62 in the Ericksen Center. The win avenges an 84-88 loss to Hamline for the Eagles from a game in January 2007. The battle was Northwestern's most physical yet of the 2008-09 season, but Tim Grosz's crew persevered through an aggressive Pipers' defense to improve to 4-0 on the year.

Points came at a premium early in the game, as the score was knotted at 11-11 until the 11:40 mark in the first half. Northwestern took a four-point lead on a jumper by Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy), giving the Eagles a 21-17 advantage. After Hamline came within a point, NWC increased its lead to 27-22 before closing out on a 4-0 run to own a 31-25 halftime lead.

Northwestern's margin increased to 13 before five minutes had ticked off of the clock in the second half, giving the Eagles a cushion to protect. Hamline cut the lead to nine points in the final 90 seconds, but successful free throw shooting gave the Eagles a 74-62 win on their home court.

Northwestern owned a huge advantage in overall shooting, making 27 of its 49 shots for 55.1 percent from the floor. Hamline was only able to counter with a 34.7 percent performance, and a dismal 14.3 percent from behind the three-point line. The Pipers forced 23 NWC turnovers, but Northwestern held a 44-37 edge in rebounding to make the difference.

A trio of Eagles scored in double figures, including Hanson, Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford). Hanson led all scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Berens recorded 16 points and seven boards. Lecheler chipped in a career-high 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) also tallied seven rebounds in the win.

Tony Thrasher led Hamline (2-2 overall, 1-0 MIAC) with 16 points and eight boards, while Dan Andersen added 12 points.

Northwestern (4-0 overall, 0-0 UMAC) will begin its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference schedule on Friday and Saturday, as the Eagles will face the College of St. Scholastica and Northland College. Friday's game in Duluth is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
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