Box Score Box Score
Game Reaction: Gabe Jefferson

ST. PAUL -- Northwestern College laid a foundation in the first half and built on it in the second half in a 58-46 victory over Finlandia University on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles led by as much as 11 in the initial 20 minutes before pushing the lead to 15 in the second while shooting 40 percent for the game.

Northwestern took advantage of Finlandia's turnovers early in the first half. A steal by Aaron Reep (Springfield, Ohio/Emmanuel Christian) turned into an Ethan Benton (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar) layup. On the Lions' next possession, Reep nabbed another steal before Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) drained a three-pointer to boost the Eagles' advantage to six.  NWC scored 15 points off of Finlandia's 18 turnovers in the game.

Gisler was the game's leading scorer, going 5-of-10 from the field and four of eight from behind the three-point line en route to a 14-point finish to go with seven rebounds. Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) added 12 points for the Eagles, while three more NWC players had seven or more points.  The Purple and Gold wrapped up the day with 20 assists compared to 15 turnovers.

Dylan Johnson was Finlandia's lone scorer in double figures with 12 points.

Following two losses earlier in the week, Northwestern rebounded to improve to 3-4 on the season. The Eagles will get a long break to practice with their next game coming next Friday, Dec. 9 against Luther College. NWC and the Norse will tip off at 8 p.m.