Box Score

ST. PAUL (Feb. 23, 2008) – Northwestern edged their opponents by two points or less for the second straight night on Saturday. This time, the foe was Martin Luther and the scenario was the championship game of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) postseason tournament.

 

Mike Anderstrom (Woodbury, MN/New Life Academy)'s (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) made jumper in the closing ticks put the Eagles up 90-88.  Three timeouts and two seconds later, Northwestern capped off their UMAC regular season title with a tournament championship, snapping Martin Luther's nine-game winning streak.

 

Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, MN/Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) had 15 points in the game's first ten minutes, sparking Northwestern's offense to a 62.9 percent first half shooting percentage and a 54-39 halftime lead. 

 

Martin Luther clawed their way back throughout the next 15 minutes, eventually tying the game at 80-80 with an even five minutes left to play. The remaining minutes had everyone in attendance on their feet, as it was back-and-forth until the very end with NWC easing the home fans' hearts.

 

It was Northwestern's third postseason championship, with the last one coming in 2002.

 

After their blazing first half, the Eagles cooled off in the second half to level off at 35-65 (53.8 percent). Northwestern, who made nine of their 15 3-point attempts in the first half, finished with an even 11-for-22 mark.

 

Martin Luther was over 50 percent for the game as well, going 32-of-62 from the field. Every other major team statistic was relative to the final game score, with every category finishing almost equal.

 

Anderstrom picked up in the scored half where Hanson left off, scoring 16 points in the final period. 10 of the senior's 24 total points came in the game's final five minutes. Anderstrom was honored with the tournament's MVP honors while tying Northwestern's all-time record for blocks in a career with 126.

 

Hanson finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his 15^th double-double of the season. Younger brother Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) was good for a quiet, but steady 15 points, going 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown. Josh Strelecki (Crystal Falls, MI/Forest Park) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) added 11 points in the win.

 

Nathan Nass, who led Martin Luther's charge in the second half, scored 16 points in the period before finishing with 22. Jacob Schwartz added 19 points, while Caleb Free recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

 

The Knights finish their season at 13-13 (9-5 UMAC) - an impressive mark seeing as though MLC started 2007-08 at 4-12. Their nine consecutive victories marked a new school record.

 

Northwestern (19-8, 12-2 UMAC) will catch a break before entering region play for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). The Eagles' future postseason schedule and opponents has yet to be announced, and is expected in the coming week. Stay tuned to nwceagles.com for information as it becomes available.