COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – What started out as a great first half for the University of Northwestern men's basketball team went flat in a hurry, as a dismal stretch at the end of the game saw the Eagles drop a 71-64 contest to Willamette University on a neutral court. UNW made 14 of 25 first half baskets, including a 9-16 mark from behind the three-point line, to own a seven-point buffer after 20 minutes. But the Purple and Gold followed with just nine makes throughout the entire second half, adding 10 turnovers along the way, to surrender the lead and their chances at a win in the Centennial State.

Trailing 7-2 early on, Northwestern used three-pointers, the Eagles' crutch in Friday night's game against Colorado College, to draw even with the Bearcats at 9-9. Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian), who nailed five treys in a 15-point performance 24 hours prior, hit his second three-pointer of the game at the 14-minute mark to give UNW its first lead of the night at 12-11 before Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) joined the long distance shooting party with a make from outside the arc to make it 15-13 in the Eagles' favor. Willamette answered right back with successful jumpers of its own, leading by as much as four at 21-17 before a pair of Blake Van Maanen (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) threes put Northwestern back in front by two. Back and forth the two teams went – another four-point Willamette edge turned into a one-point Eagles lead in a half that would feature nine lead changes. The long ball continued to drop for UNW, with Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) draining back-to-back three-pointers that produced Northwestern's largest margin thus far at 36-32. Another Carney three pushed the lead to five before Austin Stubbs (Pleasantville, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) made a pair of free throws to put UNW ahead 41-34 going into the locker room.

The Eagles made 56 percent of their first half attempts, both overall and from 20.75 feet, while the Bearcats were at 30 percent from both distances. Those numbers – on both sides of the ball – were about to change though as Northwestern couldn't buy a bucket in the remaining minutes while Willamette made half of its shots and 10-13 free throw attempts.

UNW's first basket of the second period came three and a half minutes in and was enough to keep the pursuing Bearcats at bay for a several more minutes. Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) put down a dunk to maintain Northwestern's four-point lead at 53-49 with 8:23 to go, but Willamette went on an 11-2 run down the stretch, claiming the edge at 57-55 and never having to look back. Made free throws by the Eagles kept UNW in the game, trailing by three as the game clock ticked under two minutes. Nico Troplent responded to a Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy) layup with points in the paint before Russell Hayden's three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining nearly sealed the deal as the Bearcats owned an eight-point margin on the scoreboard. Northwestern was forced to foul, but couldn't get much closer in what turned out to be a 71-64 final score in favor of Willamette.

The Eagles' nine makes from behind the three-point line in the initial 20 minutes turned into an 0-for-7 mark in the second, with Carney, who went 3-5 in the first half, going 0-4. To make matters worse, the Bearcats jumped on UNW's 17 turnovers, turning those mistakes into 23 points on the opposite end of the court.

Carney, Janson and Morrell all finished in double figures, with Janson's 17 rebounds giving the junior a double-double. Much like Friday against Colorado College, Northwestern owned an advantage in total rebounding. Willamette (2-4) had two players finish with double-digit boards, one of which was Brandon Luedtke, who added a double-double of his own with 17 points.

Northwestern (1-5) wraps up the week with its first win of the season, but will have a two-hour plane ride to think about its weekend losses as the Eagles head into another week of nonconference action, starting with a Wednesday home game against Bethel University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.