Box Score

ST. PAUL -- Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) went 6-11 overall and 5-8 from behind the three-point line as the Northwestern College men's basketball team beat Macalester College 74-68.  The Eagles, who played their first game away from the Ericksen Center on Tuesday night, will head into the long Thanksgiving weekend with a 3-1 record.

Gisler started right from the get-go, nailing a three-pointer just 12 seconds into the game as NWC took an early 7-0 lead.  Macalester came back to lead 16-13 before Northwestern took off on a nine-point run and ultimately led 37-32 at halftime.  A two-point basket by Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) at the 12:32 mark of the second half gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 13.  The Scots cut NWC's lead to five on two occasions down the stretch, but that's the closest Macalester would get as the Purple and Gold left the Leonard Center with a 74-68 victory.

For those fans who watched Northwestern play any of its first three games of the season at home last week, Tuesday's contest was much of the same.  The Eagles didn't have the greatest shooting night (25-61, 41 percent), but made up for it on defense and playing smart basketball, which was evidenced by just 10 turnovers.

Four different Northwestern players finished with double-digit points, including Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell), who's 8-10 performance at the free throw line contributed to the sophomore's 19 points overall.  Nate Thompson (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) and Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Gisler's hot night led to 18 points.  Together, Chitwood and Lecheler combined for nine assists to three assists.

Pierce Peters and Kyle Hamblett were responsible for most of Macalester's offense, producing 25 and 20 points.  Peters' 10 rebounds gave the sophomore a double-double.

Northwestern will take several days off before returning to campus to prepare for Monday's game at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.  Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m.