ST. PAUL (Feb. 19, 2008) – Crown College presented the Northwestern College men's basketball team with a good warm-up going into this weekend's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament, but the Eagles prevailed on an 81-58 account. Northwestern's duo of Daniel and Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) gave the Storm troubles all night, yielding the floor to their younger teammates to finish the battle.

 

Crown hung with NWC early, staying within three at 16-13 and 18-15. The Eagles started to pull away soon thereafter, extending the lead to 34-19 over the next six minutes before finishing the half with a 41-22 lead.

 

Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, MN/Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) pushed Northwestern's lead to 54-30 with a 3-pointer at the 13:18 mark. Crown tried to chip away, but Tim Grosz's crew kept a sizable margin before finishing the game at 81-58.

 

The Eagles shot a scorching 56.1 percent from the field, making six of their 15 3-point attempts. Crown was only able to make 32.2 percent of their attempts. Northwestern dominated the smaller Storm under the hoop, owning a 42-26 rebounding margin and a 44-12 advantage in points in the paint.

 

The elder Hanson couldn't be stopped, as he went 8-of-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from downtown for 21 points. The senior added 12 rebounds, eclipsing Dan Westin's former record of 900 rebounds in Northwestern's all-time history. Hanson now starts his own legacy with 903 career boards.

 

Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) provided Northwestern with a great second option, as the younger brother was 8-of-12 for 16 points – two of which came on a thundering one-handed dunk in the first half. Hanson had a game-high 13 rebounds in the game, showing fans his potential to one day own the school's rebounding record himself.

 

Mike Anderstrom (Woodbury, MN/New Life Academy) (Woodbury, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) added 12 points in the win, making six of his eight attempts at the free throw line. Anderstrom also tallied five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The senior is now four blocks away from tying Jeff VerSteeg's all-time record of 126 career swats.

 

Kincade Kirkpatrick had 19 points to lead Crown (5-19, 2-12 UMAC). Steve Harris chipped in 12 points in the loss.

 

Northwestern (17-8, 12-2 UMAC) will now look forward to Friday's postseason game, although their opponent has yet to be named due to a four-way tie for second place in the conference. After Martin Luther rises to the conference's No. 2 spot from the league's tie-breaker rules, a coin toss and a possible play-in game on Thursday will decide the fates of St. Scholastica, Bethany Lutheran and Minnesota-Morris. Regardless, Northwestern's affair with one of those three teams will take place at 8 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.