Box Score

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – University of Northwestern men's basketball player Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) continued to impress in 2013-2014 as the freshman scored a career-high 26 points in the Eagles' 79-64 victory over Crown College to keep UNW in a tie for first place in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings.  The win also pulls Northwestern back to an even .500 record as the Eagles are now 10-10 overall (7-2 UMAC) headed into another key league battle on Saturday.

Northwestern, who pulled out a nearly identical victory over the Storm in St. Paul on January 25, was able to maintain a slim lead throughout the game's first eight minutes. But Crown used a 6-0 run to get back in the hunt and trade one- and two-point advantages with the Eagles for much of the remainder of the half. With the scoreboard showing a 26-26, Northwestern went on a 10-5 spree to close out the period with a 36-31 lead.

Wearing their road-purple uniforms, the Eagles added to that five-point buffer with a strong start to the second half that put UNW ahead by nine at 44-35. Gisler had a role in expanding the gap as his 15 second round points kept Crown at bay. When the Storm closed in on a two-possession game, Gisler was there with a layup in the paint. The same was true a few minutes later when the freshman took the Northwestern lead to eight from five with a three-pointer.

Matt Watnemo (Moorhead, Minnesota/Moorhead High School)'s layup with 10:22 remaining finally put the Eagles up by double digits at 57-46. That buffer surrounded 10 points for nearly the rest of the game until a 10-point UNW run – with every point coming in the lane -- solidified the soon-to-be victory that settled at 79-64.

Much like the two teams' first meeting of the year, Northwestern was able to make its mark under the hoop, which was evidenced by the Eagles' 40-18 advantage in the paint. The Eagles had one of their better shooting performances of the current campaign, making 31 of 58 attempts to finish at 53.4 percent. At the same time, the UNW defense – especially on the perimeter – proved to be difficult for Crown, who went 24-68 overall while making just six of 28 three-point attempts, one of which came right before the buzzer at the game's end.

Gisler converted nine of his 13 attempts, adding in six free throws to get to 26 points while adding 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. After celebrating his birthday with a Wednesday night win over North Central University, Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) also had a double-double as the sophomore go 6-9 for 14 points and 10 boards of his own. Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian)'s four three-point makes on the night helped him finish with 18 points.

Billy Berglund led the Storm with 19 points, with Bryce Williams contributing 18 points to Crown's total of 64.

The weekend started with UNW, Crown and Minnesota Morris, Northwestern's Saturday opponent, all in a tie for first place in the UMAC standings. Northwestern's win over the Storm and Morris' victory versus North Central at the same time leaves the Eagles and Cougars remaining atop the eight-team group with matching 7-2 league records. It was Morris that won the first battle against UNW, 59-56, in the Ericksen Center on January 24. Saturday's rematch tips off at 5 p.m. in Morris, Minn.