ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team began its 2018 campaign by hosting St. Norbert College in Saturday night action at the Ericksen Center. The Eagles shot 54% in second-half play to take down the Green Knights in the season opener.
 
Northwestern, who was picked third in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, finished the 2017 season with a 14-13 overall record. St. Norbert was picked to finish first in the Midwest Conference after going 19-7 overall last year.
 
The Green Knights jumped out to an early 13-8 lead before the Eagles inched their way back – tying it up at 23 apiece with 3:50 remaining in the half.
 
Northwestern entered second-half play down by three (31-28), but came out firing – propelled by seven straight points from senior guard Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) to take the lead.
 
The Eagles outscored St. Norbert, 50-37 in the final twenty minutes and shot nearly 20% better from the field. Northwestern was led offensively by Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) who finished with 22 points on seven of 12 shooting.
 
Four additional Northwestern players scored double figures on the night including Brady Bellefeuille (Frazee, Minn./Frazee), Tanner Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area), Caleb Hageman (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) and Michael Moore (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg). Youngberg put together a double-double, adding a team-best 10 rebounds in addition to his 13 points. Johnny Erickson (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) dished out a game-high six assists.
 
Head Coach Tim Grosz entered his 19th season coaching the Eagles, and recorded his 345th career win in Northwestern's season opener.
 
The Eagles will return to action on Thursday, Nov. 15 when they host Hamline University in a non-conference meeting. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Ericksen Center.
 
Follow Northwestern men's basketball online this season at www.unweagles.com or on Instagram and Twitter at @unwmbb.