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Reid Berens
Al Schuck

Men's Basketball

Eagles push win streak to 11 with 93-55 victory over Martin Luther

Box Score

ST. PAUL -- The Northwestern College men's basketball team had little trouble with Martin Luther College on Saturday afternoon, handing the Knights a lopsided 93-55 loss. The win was the Eagles' 11th straight, keeping the UMAC's current frontrunner undefeated in 2010.

Whether fans knew it at the time or not, the game's first two minutes was a sign of what was to come in the game. A lay-up by Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) put the Eagles up 10-0 with 17:49 left to play in the half. Seven minutes later, Northwestern extended the lead to 21 points on a three-pointer from Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell), and the home team had doubled-up its opponent 50-25 by the halfway point of the 40-minute contest.

No one in an Eagles uniform played more than 25 minutes in the game, while everyone dressed in purple saw significant time on the floor. By the time the final horn sounded, Northwestern had a 93-55 lead and its 11th straight victory.

Martin Luther, who shared the UMAC title with St. Scholastica last season, has struggled in 2009-10 - much of which has come due to the team's lack of size under the hoop. The Knights' lost all-conference players Caleb Free and Aaron Schultz due to graduation, and Ryan Kolander was on the bench with an ankle injury.  Saturday was no different, as Northwestern outscored Martin Luther 50-20 in the paint and maintained a 40-32 edge in total rebounds. 

While the Eagles had one of their best shooting performances of the season, Martin Luther was nearly the opposite. NWC made 59 percent of its attempts, including 48 percent of its shots from downtown. The Knights, on the other hand, couldn't get past 34 percent shooting on the night and had an even tougher time making shots from long range.

Maybe more impressive than NWC's season-high 93 points was the team's 32 assists. In comparison, Martin Luther tallied seven assists.

Four players scored in double figures for Northwestern, including Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha) (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy), who led all players with 20 points. Hanson hit eight of his 11 attempts and was 2-3 from behind the three-point arc. Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) helped the Northwestern attack with 16 points and eight rebounds.  Lecheler turned in a good all-around presentation with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. One night after turning in a career-best 20 points, Eric Garst (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) followed with a 10-point, seven-assist performance. Rounding out the team's starting lineup, Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb../Lincoln Southeast) turned in a noteworthy nine rebounds to go with seven points.

Greg Holzhueter led Martin Luther with 16 points. Scott Henrich added 11 points for the Knights.

Northwestern continues to lead the rest of the UMAC pack by two games with a 9-1 conference record (15-6 overall) and will take its winning streak on the road next week. The Eagles will face Northland College in Ashland, Wis. on Friday, Feb. 12 before travelling to Duluth, Minn. to play St. Scholastica on Saturday, Feb. 13. Game times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.
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