ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team used a ferocious comeback effort in the second half Friday, but it wasn't enough, as the Northland College Lumberjacks (11-10, 8-5) escaped the Ericksen Center with a 77-76 win over the Eagles. UNW drops to 14-6 overall and 10-2 in league play.

Trailing by 10 at the half, UNW steadily chipped away at Northland's lead before Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) scored four-straight points to even the score at 74-74 with 2:09 to play. Northland then went back in front (76-74) with a jumper. UNW would then answer on the next possession as Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) found Peter Maring (Harris, Minn./Cambridge Christian) for a layup to even the score. An intentional foul was then called on the Eagles with 6.6 seconds to play and Northland went 1-of-2 at the line to take a 77-76 advantage. The Lumberjacks would hang on to pick up the narrow victory.

Bazile Jr. had a banner night, as the sophomore led all scorers with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also hit 4-of-5 from downtown, while grabbing six boards. Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) had a strong outing, pouring in 19 points and Peter Maring (Harris, Minn./Cambridge Christian) hit double figures for the second-straight game with his 15 points.

UNW shots 50 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc, while Northland hit 52.7 percent of its shots from the field and finished 40 percent from 3-point range.

The Eagles will continue their five-game homestand Saturday as they welcome Finlandia University for a non-conference tilt. Tip-off inside the Ericksen Center is slated for 5 p.m. Fans can find more information at www.unweagles.com.