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Stephen Hanson
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Men's Basketball

Hanson nets 1,000th career point; Eagles survive 68-64 win over Marian

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College men's basketball team claimed its own tournament championship on Saturday night as the Eagles beat Marian University 68-64 in the Ericksen Center. It was NWC's second victory in as many contests and Head Coach Tim Grosz's squad is off to a 2-1 start to begin the 2009-10 season.

While Northwestern held a seemingly-comfortable 40-29 lead at halftime, Marian posted a comeback to make it a game. With a 62-62 score and four minutes left on the clock, four consecutive free throws gave NWC a four-point cushion that proved to last until the buzzer sounded and the Eagles won the game 68-64.

Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led the team in scoring for the second straight game, making seven of his nine shots for 18 points to go with six rebounds. Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, MInn./Maranatha Christian Academy) and Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) each added 14 points for Northwestern as both contributed on both offense and defense. Jefferson, who was 7-9 from the field, posted nine rebounds and a block, while Hanson had seven rebounds.

Hanson's first score of the game put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career. He joins an elite group of now 21 players who make up the 1,000-Point Club at Northwestern including Mike Anderstrom, Josh Strelecki, and brother Daniel Hanson - all players whom Hanson has played with throughout his four years in an Eagles uniform.

Eric Garst (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) and Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) were a big help to NWC's 46.3 shooting percentage, offering six and five assists, respectively. Marian countered with a 41.4 percent mark from the field while the two teams both finished the game with 34 rebounds, 16 assists and 13 turnovers.

Logan Rankin led Marian with 20 points, while Bryan Ashbeck contributed 11 more points for the Sabres.

For their efforts throughout the past two days, both Hanson and Berens were selected to the event's all-tournament team, with Berens earning tournament MVP honors. Both Rankin and Ashbeck were also all-tournament team members for Marian.

The Eagles will hope to continue their recent success as Northwestern hosts Macalester College on Tuesday, Nov. 24. That contest will begin following the Northwestern-Wisconsin-Stout women's game, which is expected to finish at approximately 7:15 p.m.
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