Box Score

Game Reactions: Head Coach Tim Grosz | Wade Chitwood | Aaron Reep

MANKATO, Minn. -- Northwestern College is headed back to the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament following a 60-44 come from behind victory over Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday night in the UMAC Tournament Championship. The Eagles, down 18-3 at one point in the first half, battled back to come within two at halftime before hitting big shots down the stretch in the second period to upset the top-seeded Vikings.

For as cold as NWC was to start the first half, Bethany was hot. Gavin Kroehler hit a pair of three pointers off the bat while nothing seemed to fall for the Eagles, who went 2-13 from the field to start the game. Looking up at a 20-5 Vikings lead, Northwestern went to work. Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) hit a pair of free throws, followed by a jumper from Ethan Benton (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar). A minute later, Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) hit a three to cut the lead below 10 and the Eagles were in business on offense while amping up its defense as well. Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) hit a three-pointer with 1:07 left in the first half to bring the visitors on teh scoreboard within two at halftime, 24-22.

Not quite four minutes into the second period, Northwestern took the lead – and for good – on a jumper by Westberg. Three minutes later, Chitwood went up and over Bethany Lutheran defenders to bring the Eagles' advantage to seven to cap off an 11-0 NWC run. Chitwood, the Eagles' leading scorer this season, struggled to find shots in the first half, but the junior turned things on in a hurry in the second to help shift the momentum in the Vikings' loud gymnasium. At one point, Northwestern made five straight three-pointers to take a 13-point lead with three minutes to play. Westberg had two in that stretch, including a shot from the left side over a closely-guarding Bethany defender to push the margin to 10. While NWC's shots continued to find the bottom of the net, the Vikings made just one field goal in the last 3:50 before the Purple and Gold walked off the court with a new piece of hardware to put in their trophy case and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Chitwood had 15 points for the Eagles, followed by a pair of 13-point performances from Westberg, who led NWC with eight rebounds, and Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville). The Eagles shot 41.5 percent as a team while holding Bethany Lutheran to 30 percent. Kroehler finished with a team-best 14 points for the Vikings. Both teams finished with eight turnovers in the game.

Northwestern will discover where and when it will play in its first NCAA Tournament game on Monday at 11 a.m., when a selection show will be broadcast on NCAA.com. First round games are scheduled for either Thursday or Friday of next week. The Eagles remain the only UMAC team to advance to the NCAA Tournament after earning the league's first automatic qualifier in 2011 when Northwestern nearly knocked off Division III national champion St. Thomas in the opening round.