Box Score
MANKATO, Minn.—Heading into Friday night's contest, the last two regular season matchups between the Northwestern College men's basketball team and Bethany Lutheran College had been decided by three points or less, with the Vikings picking up both wins. The third time proved to be the charm as the Eagles came out with an 89-86 victory on Friday, maintaining sole possession of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) top spot.
NWC's first basket of the night came as a result of a
Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) trey 57 seconds after tipoff, the first of the senior's 33 points in the contest. The two squads exchanged scores before the Eagles were able to put on a run, as Chitwood and
Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) provided the offense en route to the visitors' 15-8 lead with 14:37 left in the period.
The Vikings cut into the margin and brought the contest within five before a 9-1 run by Northwestern provided a bit of lead security heading into the second 10 minutes. NWC was able to hang right around the double digit lead mark until BLC started controlling the game flow and went on a 20-4 run to end the first period, leaving the score at 40-35.
As the second half began, it looked like Bethany Lutheran would continue to run the contest as the home team maintained control until NWC first evened the 59-59 score with 10:33 left in regulation courtesy of a
Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) close-range make, the fifth tie of the night. Yet again, the Vikings utilized a jumper and pair of free throws to pick up an advantage, but the Eagles kept chipping away and eventually took the lead back with 6:11 ticking off the board.
As the final minutes progressed, the tables had turned and Northwestern was able to pick up some pace, earning a seven point buffer with 3:46 to play after a Chitwood three found the net. Fast forward 1:44 and
Matt Watnemo (Moorhead, Minnesota/Moorhead High School) added his free throw to an eight-point margin before the Vikings picked up steam yet again.
The key to NWC's final 60 seconds proved to be free throws, with Gisler and Chitwood posting a perfect 6-6 mark to secure the game, even amidst a three-point play compounded with a jumper from Bethany Lutheran. After the final seconds played out, the Eagles had picked up their ninth conference victory and sixth road win of this year's campaign by an 89-86 margin.
Posting a huge night for the Purple and Gold was Chitwood, who finished with 33 points, including a perfect 10-10 record from the charity stripe. He was aided by teammates Gisler and Watnemo, each posting successful shooting nights, going 7-11 from the floor while Gisler added a .800 three-point percentage. Also chipping in with double digits was Westberg with 12 points.
As a collective bunch, the Eagles notched their highest free throw percentage of the year, a .857 success rate. Additionally, a 50.9% field goal mark and 36.4% long-range statistic were enough to give NWC an upper hand in the box score categories.
Northwestern (16-6 overall, 9-2 UMAC) will have a night of recovery before making the brief trip to New Ulm, Minnesota for a 5 p.m. Saturday evening matchup with Martin Luther College.
