Box Score


NEW ULM, Minn. – The Northwestern College men's basketball team was able to fend off a persistent Martin Luther College squad, outlasting the Knights 74-62 on Saturday evening. The Eagles got a big performance from its senior class, as the group combined for 58 of the team's 74 points. With the victory, the squad clinched at least a share of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Regular Season Title, its third in the past four seasons. 

Northwestern's scoring was dry early, going scoreless from the floor for the first 4:34 of play before Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) found Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) for a three-ball. The two teams exchanged baskets, keeping the game close, with neither Martin Luther nor NWC gaining a significant advantage until just minutes remained in the first half

NWC began to pick up momentum around the 3:00 mark as Libby strung together a make from behind the arc with a layup to give the visiting team a 30-25 upper hand. Chitwood added a pair of successful free throw attempts before Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) scored in the paint, increasing the lead to 34-25 with 1:38 left before intermission. Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) added a charity stripe basket of his own, providing a brief double-digit cushion before a Knight basket cut the margin to eight heading into halftime.

After a bucket from the home team, the Eagles' offense began to roll, going on a 16-3 run over the next 5:16 to bring the score to 51-33 with just under 14 minutes to play. Shortly after the rally concluded, Steven Willey (Fort Calhoun, Neb./Fort Calhoun) increased the lead 19 with his trey and after a Knights' make, Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy) was successful on a close-range shot, giving NWC its largest lead of the game, a 20-point buffer, with 12:09 left in the ballgame.

Martin Luther was far from conceding, however, and began to chip away at the deficit, eventually bringing the game after a Luke Rothe triple hit the net with 5:27 left to play. The Purple and Gold responded with an 8-0 sequence of its own, once again securing a double-digit lead with 2:12 to play, thanks in part to a Libby bucket. As the seconds fell off the clock, Northwestern was able to secure a 74-62 conference victory and share of the regular season trophy.

Libby led the NWC scoring charge with 20 points, a game-high mark, while also notching seven assists. Gisler and Chitwood each added 16 points apiece to the final total, while Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) rounded out the senior scoring with six of his own.

The Eagles were able to win the battle of shooting percentages, posting field goal and three-point marks of .415 and .409 throughout the contest. Additionally, a second-half success rate of 50% provided the squad with conversion on five triples.

Northwestern (17-6 overall, 10-2 UMAC) will return to the practice courts this week before tipping off with Northland College in a 7:30 p.m. road game on Friday night, the opening game of the final weekend of regualr season action.