Box Score
ST. PAUL (Feb. 16, 2008) – After six consecutive victories, the Northwestern College men's basketball team fell at the hands of Martin Luther College by a score of 81-68. The Eagles, who had been crowned the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) champions the night before, had one of their coldest shooting performances of the night, making only 27 of their 73 attempts from the field.
Northwestern had as much as a seven point lead throughout the first half before leading 36-35 at the break. After a 44-44 tie four minutes into the second period, Martin Luther went on a tear, building a six point lead at 54-48 with 13:06 to play. The Eagles came back to tie it at 56-56, but the Knights made six of their next nine shots – three of which were 3-pointers – to go up by 13 with 5:03 remaining. Although NWC cut the lead to six, the home team couldn't find the basket while MLC kept making their free throws, ultimately giving the visitors a much an 81-68 win.
In relation to the Eagles' cold shooting from the floor, Northwestern was even worse from downtown, making only 5 of their 22 attempts for 22.7 percent. Martin Luther was on the opposite end of the spectrum as they shot 52.6 percent from the field while making 42.9 percent of their 3-point attempts. The Knights' hot shooting negated their 21 turnovers in the game – 14 of which came in the first half.
Despite scoring 20 points off of MLC's turnovers, the Eagles were out-rebounded for only the sixth time all season, as Martin Luther held a 42-37 advantage.
Josh Strelecki (Crystal Falls, MI/Forest Park) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) worked hard for his team-leading 17 points, going 8-of-17 from the field.
Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, MN/Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) and
Mike Anderstrom (Woodbury, MN/New Life Academy) (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) added 13 and 11 points, respectively, in Northwestern's loss.
Jacob Schwartz caught fire for Martin Luther in the second half, finishing with a game-high 26 points. Three other Knights scored in double figures.
Martin Luther needed the win to stay alive in hopes of participating in next weekend's UMAC postseason tournament, which will be held in the Ericksen Center. The Knights currently stand at 8-5 in UMAC play (10-12 overall), and were locked up in a three-way tie entering tonight's game.
Northwestern (16-8, 11-2 UMAC) will wrap up their regular season on Tuesday, when they host Crown College. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Eagles will then play the league's No. 4 seed, which will either be Minnesota-Morris, St. Scholastica or Martin Luther, at 8 p.m. in Friday's tournament.
