Box Score

ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team was unable to stop the momentum of visiting Luther College on Friday night, dropping a 78-63 contest. The Norse had four players reach double digit scoring and owned a nine-point advantage at the half to secure the final outcome.

While Luther was the first team on the board, Blake Van Maanen (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) quickly changed the score with a triple just 33 seconds into the contest to allow the home team to lead 3-2. The visitors would own the next scoring run and held a six point advantage as the clock read 16:40. A Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) jumper would bring the lead back within four, but the Norse returned the favor to keep the lead above five points.

The home team would bring the deficit down to a single point at the 13:39 mark courtesy of three charity stripes makes by Carney and again by a score from Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville). Soon after, however, the visitors took over and put on a 11-2 run to own a 14-point advantage with 7:12 left in the first period.

The lead remained fairly consistent as the clock continued to reach double zeroes signaling the end of the first half. Luther headed into halftime with a 38-27 advantage after riding an 18-4 points in the paint advantage and a 8-2 margin in points off turnovers.  

The second half featured a rapid Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) triple to cut the lead to single digits again, and Carney seized the opportunity to promote another run and decreased the margin to six as Seven Willey found him for a layup just 1:08 into the period.

Northwestern continued to press into the Luther upper hand but the Norse stayed strong, owning at least a two-possession lead until just under 6:30 remained. A Carney mini-run brought the score to 60-57 in favor of the visitors from Decorah, Iowa but another Luther basket down on the other end of the floor slowed the pressure.

The final minutes played out featuring an extended margin in favor of the Norse, ending the contest in a 78-63 margin. UNW was able to get an inside presence going in the final 20 minutes of action, scoring 14 points down low to match the same total as the visiting squad.

The Eagles were led by Carney's 22 points on the night, while Gisler went 6-9 from the floor to join his teammate in double-digit scoring with 15 points. Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) led the team's rebounding efforts with seven in 17 minutes played.

Northwestern holds a 3-5 record heading into its final contest before a Christmas break, a nonconference matchup at Wheaton College. The Eagles will matchup with the Thunder in a 7:30 p.m. game on Dec. 20.