Box Score

NEW ULM, Minn. – A lights out performance in Friday night's first half allowed the Northwestern College men's basketball team to throttle past Martin Luther College in 95-56 fashion. The win was the Eagles' fourth in UMAC play and is a needed boost headed into Saturday afternoon's bout against current conference leader Bethany Lutheran College.

Northwestern came out hot from the tip, as Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) hit a three-pointer within five seconds of the game's start. The Eagles had scored nine straight points before Martin Luther got on the board three minutes into the game. Josh Danell's layup with 13:36 to go in the first half cut NWC's lead to three, but the Purple and Gold eventually built the margin back up to 10 on a pair of made free throws by Devon Apgar (Roxbury, N.J./Hillcrest Academy).

Multiple baskets from Chitwood, Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) and Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) turned a seven-point Eagles advantage in to a 48-27 lead before the visitors went into the locker room with a 21-point buffer at halftime at 50-29.

Northwestern continued to shoot the ball well in the second half as the Eagles' lead grew. A Chitwood jumper two and a half minutes into the period increased the margin to 25. Brent Kettenacker (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) sparked an eight-point spree down the stretch with a good jumper before capping off the run with a fast break layup to give NWC a 69-39 lead. The Eagles' advantage dabbled into the 40-piont range before the final score finished at 95-56.

The Eagles consistently shot just over 50 percent for the game, settling at 52 percent as the horn sounded. While making nine of 15 three-point attempts in the first half, the Eagles ended at an even 15 for 30 for the game from downtown. NWC dished out 25 assists compared to just seven turnovers.

Chitwood finished 7-13 overall and 3-6 from three-point land for 19 points in just 23 minutes of action. Jefferson was a perfect 6-6 from the floor, including 3-3 from long distance, for 15 points while Gisler added 12 points to go with a team-best seven rebounds himself.

Defensively, Northwestern held Martin Luther to just 33 percent shooting overall and 25 percent from behind the three-point line. NWC out-scored the Knights 15-1 in points off of turnovers while earning 41 points from its bench.

Now 9-8 overall, the Eagles will quickly turn their attention to a 5 p.m. tip-off on Saturday against Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn. Bethany is the lone undefeated team in the conference and Northwestern would love to be the squad to hand the Vikings their first UMAC loss of the season.