Eagles resume tie for first place in UMAC after 61-57 win over Martin Luther

Box Score

NEW ULM, Minn. (Feb. 7, 2009) – After taking its first defeat of 2009, Northwestern College regained its composure to defeat Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) leader Martin Luther College on Saturday evening by a score of 61-57. Northwestern, who yielded the league's sole leadership to the Knights following their loss to Bethany, earned a season sweep over Martin Luther, joining the host team in a tie for first place once again.

Down 30-29 at halftime, Northwestern rallied to lead by 11 points with 11:52 to play in the game. Behind the excited crowd that packed Martin Luther's gymnasium, the Knights cut NWC's lead to one within three minutes. A three-pointer by Eric Garst (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) with 3:20 to play put the Eagles up 59-51, and Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford)'s (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) two free throws in the final seconds preserved Northwestern's four-point win.

Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy), who saw limited action the night before due to foul trouble, went off for 25 points to lead Northwestern, making 11 of his 22 attempts from the floor to go with eight rebounds. Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and Garst each added eight points in the win. As a team, the Eagles made 43 percent of their field goal attempts.

Martin Luther (13-7, 8-2 UMAC) was led by point guard Greg Holzhueter, who finished with 18 points. Caleb Free and Aaron Schultz each added 10 points in the Knights' loss.

Northwestern, who resumes its winning ways at 16-5 (8-2 UMAC), will return home for the first time in nearly a month next Friday and Saturday in crucial games against Northland College and the College of St. Scholastica, as the UMAC's top four spots are currently separated by a mere game. Northland will visit the Ericksen Center first, with a 7:30 p.m. showdown on Friday looming, followed by Saturday's 5 p.m. affair with St. Scholastica.

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