Box Score
Game Reaction: Lance Westberg

ST. PAUL -- Northwestern College wanted another shot at the College of St. Scholastica after losing to the Saints by 20 points in Duluth on Jan. 21. The Eagles took advantage of their opportunity on Friday night, building as much as a 20-point lead before settling on a 78-61 victory in the Ericksen Center.

Right off the bat, fans knew this one was going to be good. St. Scholastica's MarShaan Johnson got the first bucket on a layup, but NWC answered right back with an and-one by Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls), followed by a two-point jumper from Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) and a three ball courtesy of Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) to put the Eagles up 8-2. The Saints chopped the lead down to two on its next three possessions, but the Purple and Gold fed off of the crowd's energy to turn a 13-11 game into a 29-14 margin over the course of seven and a half minutes on back-to-back shots by Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville). Gisler's three with 5:19 left in the first half pushed the Eagles' lead to 18, but an eventual jumper from St. Scholastica's Brett Tester turned the score to 41-25 before the final 80 seconds of the period went without a basket. Northwestern could barely do any wrong in the initial 20 minutes, dishing out 11 assists compared to just two turnovers.

Hamers drained a long trey to start off the second half, but Northwestern's lead built up to 20 on a Gisler three-pointer 5:44 into the period. With the Eagles still up big at 62-42, St. Scholastica's full court pressure helped the Saints start a comeback that had fans holding their breath as the margin turned to 15 on a Johnson layup and then nine on consecutive shots from downtown from Cole Martel and Derek Steve. Westberg, who started his first game at home, ended NWC's drought with another and-one play, and the Eagles were back in business following back-to-back makes by Chitwood. Saints Head Coach David Staniger put his reserves in before the two-minute mark, and the Eagles coasted to a 78-61 win.

Northwestern went 33-67 (49.3 percent) from the floor while making eight of its 20 three-point attempts. Libby and Gisler each drained three treys en route to double-digit scoring for both juniors. The Eagles out-scored St. Scholastica 40-24 in the paint while scoring 15 points on the same number of Saints turnovers.

Westberg netted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, going 6 for 11. Gisler led all scorers with 17 points, while Chitwood contributed 15 points. Libby, who entered the locker room at halftime with a game-best eight points, finished with 13 points and five assists while earning a monster block on St. Scholastica's Jonah Dahlman under the hoop in the second half.

Hamers finished with 14 points to lead the Saints (10-10, 7-2 UMAC), followed by Brett Tester's 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles held the conference's second-leading scorer to just five baskets on 13 attempts.

While the Eagles (11-10, 6-3 UMAC) leave the Ericksen Center with an emotional victory, Northwestern will have to return to the gymnasium with the same approach on Saturday when Northland College comes to town. The LumberJacks took Northwestern to overtime in their last meeting this season, so, despite Northland's 4-15 record, the game will not be an easy one for NWC. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.