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Men's Basketball

Ward's 39 points too much for Men's Hoops

Box Score

ST. PAUL (Feb. 21, 2009) – The Northwestern College men's basketball team lost out on an opportunity to share the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship after falling to Presentation College 83-68. The Saints, who entered the game with a 40.5 team shooting percentage, drained 78.3 percent of their attempts on Saturday, led by Richie Ward's 39 points on a perfect 16-of-16 shooting.

Northwestern was slow out of the gate, as the visiting Saints raced out to a 16-0 lead before the Eagles were able to score a basket. Northwestern mounted a comeback, cutting Presentation's edge to five points with 2:53 to play in the first half, but the Saints scored seven straight points to close out the half with a 38-28 advantage.

Presentation (10-15, 6-8 UMAC), which made 76 percent of its shots in the first half, kept its pace up in the second, continuing to cause confusion on Northwestern's end of the floor in terms of how to stop them. Although the Eagles had the home crowd behind them, NWC was unable to make a strong run and the Saints left St. Paul with an 83-68 win.

Northwestern didn't exactly have a bad shooting night, as the Eagles finished the game having made 43 percent of their shots. NWC, who has been a strong rebounding team all season, wasn't given that opportunity in the game with Presentation's hot shooting, and therefore was on the bottom side of a 24-20 count on the boards.

Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) led Northwestern with 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, while Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) and Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. Berens was the game's leading rebounder, pulling down nine rebounds.

The Saints' Ward came within two consecutive baskets of tying an NCAA record for consecutive field goals made with his 16 in a row. The junior, who entered the game averaging just over eight points per game in UMAC contests, made every shot that left his hands, with the exception of one free throw. Ward was also Presentation's high rebounder, grabbing seven boards.

Northwestern, who falls to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in UMAC play, could have shared the conference championship with St. Scholastica and Martin Luther after St. Scholastica's 91-81 defeat of the Knights in Duluth. The Eagles will have to settle for the No. 3 seed in next week's UMAC tournament, which means they will host Bethany Lutheran on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Tip-off in the single-elimination tournament is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.in the Ericksen Center.
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