ST. PAUL, Minn. - It was a huge rivalry game as the University of Northwestern men's basketball team hosted their rivals from the north in the College of St. Scholastica Saints Wednesday night. The Eagles would fall in a tightly contested matchup by a score of 75-73 as their overall record moves to 13-5.
It was a slow but competitive first half as neither team could find a lead bigger than four points. The Eagles held the lead for most of the half before the Saints found themselves ahead till the end of the half for the final five minutes as they entered the lockers leading 30-26.
In the second half, both of the teams started to heat up. Once again it was back and forth scoring as the lead for the Saints stayed below five points throughout the first eight minutes of the half. Until SCS found their biggest lead of the game off of a three pointer to take an eight point lead with 10 minutes left. However the Eagles would strike back with vengeance as Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) sank a couple of threes to give Northwestern the lead with less than 5 minutes to go in the game. After some continuous back and forth with both teams fighting for the lead, Scholastica would eventually find a five point lead with 30 seconds remaining. However, not willing to give up, a couple of heroic threes from Caleb Waldeck (Newhall, Calif./Hart High) found the Eagles trailing by one in the dying moments of the game. Going to the free throw line, the Saints would sink a free throw before time expired, taking the game 75-73.
UNW shot 39.4 percent from the field with a hot 40.7 percent from the three point line. Their presence was felt on the boards as they won that battle 46-36 and just like their previous game, the unselfish playstyle shined throughout the game as the team finished with 16 assists.
The Eagles had four players surpass double digits throughout the game. Leading the charge was Kyle Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) who finished with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Right behind him was Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) who got himself 14 points along with four rebounds. Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) grabbed himself another double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds and Hoilien's strong start to the second half earned him a total of 12 points.
The Eagles will continue their homestand on Saturday, January 29 as they will host the Rams of North Central University at 4:45 p.m. It will be a UNW nation gold out as well as an important event for the team, coaches vs. cancer. For all things UNW Men's Basketball, fans can follow along at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwmbb.
