Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS – With the game tied at halftime, the University of Northwestern men's basketball team outscored North Central University 49-27 in the second half alone to secure its first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) win of the season Saturday night by a 83-61 margin. After shooting 48.4% from the floor in the first 20 minutes alone, the Eagles went on to notch a 54.5 rate in the next period to pick up the victory.

UNW was the first school on the board as Eric Witthus (Chanhassen, Minn./Chanhassen) made a close-ranger 14 seconds to lead 2-0. The home team would own momentum for the next stretch, leading 11-4 with the clock reading 14:37. North Central capitalized on an early streak as the Rams would keep possession of the lead by a 24-10 margin 11:20 into the opening half. Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) would cut the deficit down with his layup, followed by a trio of points from Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) to leave the game at 24-15 in favor of NCU.

The next minutes featured the Purple and Gold's chance to showcase its offense as the margin would be brought within five as Witthus found success around the hoop again, while Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and Steven Willey (Fort Calhoun, Neb./Fort Calhoun) did their part to even the halftime score at 34-34. While UNW posted a solid mark from the floor, the home team actually bested the percentage making exactly half of its attempts.

It was slow-going for the early minutes as the squads returned to the hardwood for the second half of the UMAC Game of the Week, as neither team would score until the 18:11 point. Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) gave the Eagles some cushion with his triple at the 17:49 mark to leave the game at 37-36 before a Witthus long-range bucket increased the advantage to two possessions.

Riding a 13-2 run to start the half, Northwestern would soon propel forward to a nine, then 11 points after the early baskets. The Eagles were successfully able to handle its opponent to maintain its upper hand at double-digits for the final 7:32 of the contest with the final five minutes featuring a bit more lead security as the seconds ticked by.

The final 17 UNW points of the game featured 15 charity-stripe makes, including five from Steven Willey (Fort Calhoun, Neb./Fort Calhoun) four from Witthus, and three from Carney. As a team, the Eagles went 15-19 from the free-throw line over the course of the final 4:06 to secure what would be the final outcome.

North Central responded with some makes of its own, but it was not enough to surpass the lead Northwestern had established, leaving the final score at 83-61 in favor of the visitors.

UNW was led in scoring by a career-high, 17-point performance from Ooms notching a perfect 8-8 performance from the floor in 22 minutes played. Also contributing to the well-rounded offensive effort were Witthus, Carney, Gisler, and Willey who each reached double-digit scoring totals in the evening matchup.

Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy) led the game's rebounding efforts with eight boards, helping his team to a 48-38 advantage over the course of 40 minutes.

With the win, Northwestern improves to 4-8 on the year and also secures a 1-0 opening mark in conference action. Next up for the Eagles is a road contest against Martin Luther College on Friday, January 17. The tip-off in New Ulm, Minn. will take place at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a 3 p.m. Saturday matchup as UNW will travel to Mankato, Minn. to take on Bethany Lutheran College.