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Men's Basketball

Eagles stomp Bethany Lutheran, 67-38

Box Score

ST. PAUL (Jan. 10, 2009) – The outcome of Saturday's game didn't quite reflect the excitement that preceded it, as Northwestern College defeated Bethany Lutheran College 67-38 in the Ericksen Center. After defeating a highly-touted Martin Luther squad one day earlier, the Eagles handed the Vikings a lopsided loss to sweep their weekend competition.

Bethany Lutheran (8-7, 2-2 UMAC), who was picked by the UMAC coaches to win the conference, never led in the game, as Northwestern jumped out to leads of four and eight early on before leading 28-10 with 5:52 to play in the initial period. Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) drained a layup with five seconds left in the half to give NWC a 17-point edge at halftime.

The Eagles' lead was extended to as much as 34 points with just over four minutes to play in the game before the final 67-38 score was determined.

Once again, Northwestern's defense proved to be their lifeline. Bethany's trio of Andy Wills, Tommy Saffert and Jeff Zimmerman entered the game averaging just under 50 points per game combined. Credit the Eagles for causing problems all night, as Wills ended the game with 12 points, while Saffert's seven and Zimmerman's six were far below expectations.

Eric Garst (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain)'s (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) 3-for-4 performance from behind the three-point line throttled him a team-leading 11 points, while Steve Discher (Andover, Minn./Andover) (Andover, Minn./Andover) added 10 points in his season debut. Discher finished 3-for-3 from the floor in a quick six minutes after sitting out almost a year due to injury.

In addition to their defense, the Eagles' rebounding was once again superb, as John Duren (Austin, Minn./Austin)'s (Austin, Minn./Austin) nine boards helped NWC hold a 39-27 advantage. 11 of Northwestern's 14 players who played recorded a rebound in the game.

Northwestern won its fourth consecutive game with the victory, bumping its record to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in UMAC play. The Eagles will look to pick up where they left off in a non-conference game next Wednesday (Jan. 14), when they travel down the road to play North Central University in Minneapolis.  Game time is 7:30 p.m. 
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