Box Score

ST. PAUL -- Saturday's men's basketball game between Northwestern College and Bethany Lutheran College didn't seem like a battle of the UMAC's two best teams as the Eagles shot over 50 percent while the Vikings struggled with turnovers in a 71-45 final score. NWC held a double-digit lead within the game's first five minutes before owning a 42-23 edge at halftime. The Purple and Gold out-scored Bethany 32-12 in the paint while forcing 24 Vikings mistakes.

Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) started Northwestern's early spree with a three-pointer before Nate Thompson (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) added a layup to give the Eagles a 5-0 lead before a minute had ticked off of the clock. Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) added a jumper of his own three minutes later to boost NWC's lead to 10 points. After the Eagles' lead had expanded to 14, Bethany pushed back to get the score to 21-14, but head coach Tim Grosz's crew answered with a 12-0 run that was capped off by a three-point basket from Gisler.

After going into the locker room with a 19-point halftime lead, Northwestern continued to play strong on both sides of the court, increasing its lead to 52-29 with 13:25 left on the clock. With the game virtually wrapped up, Grosz turned to the deeper part of his bench and Brent Kettenacker (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) buried a three to max the lead at 26.

Northwestern went 28-55 (51 percent) from the field while recording 23 assists as a team. Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) had a lot to do with that number, churning out nine assists while barely missing his first career triple-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Gisler was the Eagles' scoring leader on the night, going 5-9 for 14 points. Thompson was right behind his teammate, adding 13 points and three assists.

Alex Weldon and Trevor Bartlet each had 10 points to pace Bethany Lutheran (8-10, 5-2 UMAC), who falls into a tie for second place in the UMAC standings with the University of Minnesota, Morris following the loss.

The win was Northwestern's fifth straight and the team's eighth in its last nine games. Now alone atop the conference standings, the Eagles head into next week's slate of games with a 12-6 overall record and a 6-1 UMAC mark. NWC will hit the road beginning on Tuesday with a weekday game at Crown College (7:30 p.m. tip) before driving north to play the College of St. Scholastica and Northland College on Friday and Saturday evenings.