SANTA CLARITA, Calif.- The University of Northwestern Men's Basketball wrapped up their trip to California with a game against The Master's University Mustangs on Thursday night. The Eagles fell to the Mustangs 55-50 and their record now sits at 8-4 on the year.
It was a story of different scoring stretches for both teams in the first half. UNW came out hot on both sides of the ball with a quick 20-2 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. During the early run, the Eagles held the Mustangs to five percent shooting, thanks to the arms of
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy), who found himself two early blocks.
The Mustangs responded with their own fire as they went on a 16-2 run, cutting the deficit to only four points with three minutes left in the half. However, after a UNW timeout, the Eagles built their lead back to 10 points as they entered the lockers leading 30-20. The Eagles shot 43 percent from the field while holding the Mustangs to 27 percent.
Early on in the second half, the Mustang's defense was determined, causing the Eagles to turn over the ball multiple times. TMU tied the game at 47 a piece with 3:11 left on the clock. They would find the lead for the first time in the game with 2:35 left on the clock. The Eagles attempted to fight back, however, the defensive effort by the Mustangs was too strong for UNW as they forced 24 turnovers. The Eagles would fall to TMU 55-50 to wrap up the year.
Leading the Eagles in points was
Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) who finished with 13 points and three rebounds.
Kyle Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) was right behind him in points with nine of his own while bringing in two rebounds.
Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) was dominant on the boards with seven rebounds and Hoilien grabbed six rebounds, while also scoring eight points for UNW.
The UNW Men's Basketball Team will be back in action next year as they gear up for the UMAC gauntlet. The Eagles will be heading over to take on North Central University on January 8 at 4:45 p.m. For all things UNW Men's Basketball, follow the team on social media at @unwmbb.
