Box Score MINNEAPOLIS – The Northwestern College men's basketball team rallied to overcome a 13-point second-half deficit to return to the win column in an 88-83 fashion Tuesday night, outlasting North Central University in the final minutes of the non-conference contest.

Northwestern was down early, as the home team took the lead at the 18:54 mark and rallied to a seven-point advantage at the 15:32 mark. The Eagles began to cut into the lead thanks to a Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) lay-in and a Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) long-range make, but the Rams kept rolling and stretched the margin out to double-digits three times in the first half alone. An and-one conversion by Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) and a good free-throw from Daniel Petkau (Rib Lake, Wis./Rib lake) brought the game within one with 2:34 remaining in the period before North Central entered intermission with a 38-35 score.

The second-half featured many mini-runs by NWC, but the hosts raced to a 53-42 lead just 4:02 after halftime. Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) hit a three-pointer to cut into the deficit, but North Central owned its largest advantage of the game in the 13^th minute of the period, a 62-49 margin.

The final 5:30 of the game proved to be a change in momentum, as Carney, Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell), and Gisler combined to give the visitors their first lead of the game. The Eagles were able to maintain control for the remaining minutes, holding the Rams to no successful field goals after the 2:32 point of the half, en route to an 88-83 score as the buzzer sounded.

The Purple and Gold were led by all-around scoring, as seven of the nine players who saw the court reached the double-digit mark. Gisler posted a team-high with 15 points closely followed by Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy), Carney, Steven Willey (Fort Calhoun, Neb./Fort Calhoun), Libby, Chitwood, and Shephard. Janson, Willey, and Shephard all posted career-high performances in the team's sixth win of the season.

Both teams posted similar field goal percentages in the close contest, as NWC shot 46.5% from the field while the home team on the scoreboard tallied a 46.3 mark. In the first of three matchups this season, both teams brought in the same number of rebounds, 43.

Northwestern (6-2) will return to the hardwood on Friday night at 7 p.m. as the team plays host to ninth-ranked and undefeated Wheaton College.