ST. PAUL – Visiting Hamline University spoiled the University of Northwestern's home opener on Saturday, defeating the Eagles 79-59 in the Ericksen Center. The Pipers shot a blazing 60 percent from outside the three-point arc while UNW struggled to buy a bucket when it mattered most in the second half.

Northwestern owned an early lead at 9-4 as Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) found success under the hoop with three straight layups in the game's intial four minutes. In a six-point spree that saw the Eagles go from a 9-8 edge to 19-11, the layups continued with both Daniel Petkau (Rib Lake, Wis./Rib Lake) and Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) getting their first points of the night. Hamline came right back to tie the game on an 8-0 run, answering the Purple and Gold's success in the paint with made baskets of its own to tie the score at 19-19. Neither team was able to establish much of a lead until Hamline broke a 29-all score with back-to-back layups in the final 2:35 to go into halftime with a four-point buffer.

20 of the Pipers' first half points came from head coach Jim Hayes' bench, and all but three points of Hamline's production in the initial 20 minutes was in the paint. That hardly was the case in the second half, as the Pipers caught fire from long range while UNW went on a dry spell at the same time. What was a one-point separation with 11:11 to play quickly escalated to a nine-point difference within two minutes, but Hamline wasn't done yet as an 18-1 run put the visitors up by 19. The Pipers made a trio of three-point baskets in less than three minutes while Northwestern's answer was a mere free throw make from Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville). The Eagles weren't able to cut the gap to any less than 15 points and Hamline cruised to its biggest win over Northwestern since 1990. Hamline finished with a 7-9 mark from downtown in the second half, while UNW went 3-14 from the same distance throughout the entire night.

Northwestern actually shot better percentage-wise and committed less turnovers in the final 20 minutes than it did in the first half, but Hamline's 17-28 shooting show in the second period did the Eagles in. UNW not only couldn't buy a bucket, but the Eagles also struggled to get rebounds. Hamline owned a 36-23 advantage on the boards, grabbing 25 defensive rebounds compared to Northwestern's 16.

Ooms was one of the Eagles' lone bright spots as the junior didn't miss any of his nine field goal attempts in an 18-point effort. Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) added 14 points on 6-8 shooting, but Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian), UNW's points-per-game leader last season, was 1-11 from the floor.

Four Hamline players finished in double figures, with Austin Johnson's 14 points leading the Pipers.

Northwestern will have nearly a full week of practice before next weekend's four-team ACR Homes Tip-off Tournament hosted by the Eagles. UNW will host Simpson College at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 21 before returning to the gym on Saturday the 22nd for a 7 p.m. contest against the University of Dubuque.