Roseville, Minn. –– In the 2022-23 home opener and for the first time since the 2015-16 Men's Basketball season, the University of Northwestern Eagles (2-0) took on the Bethel University Royals (0-2). It was the first time in 2,902 days that the two squads faced off, and the Eagles prevailed 80-67 and never trailed in the contest.

Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) started the scoring with a three to give the Eagles the lead from the opening bell and never looked back. Both teams struggled to generate very much offense in the first half, especially from behind the arc. Northwestern only made one more three in the first half, but it was enough to take a 36-35 lead into halftime. 

Coming out of intermission, the Eagles' offense started to light it up. The two squads traded points for the first two minutes, but Northwestern held on to its one-point lead. Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) followed it up with six of his twenty points to give the Eagles an eight-point lead. Northwestern continued to expand its lead and got it to 18 on Elijah Burn's three with 8:29 to go. The Eagles controlled the second half and kept around a fifteen-point lead for the remainder of the game. Bethel managed to cut the lead to ten with 2:55 left, but then Northwestern turned on the afterburners and extended the lead to put the game away.

Northwestern captured the battle on Snelling thanks to outrebounding Bethel 43-31 and controlling the game's flow. Fahnbulleh led the Eagles with 20 points and tallied nine rebounds. Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) recorded his career high of 13 points, Hoilien added 15 points, and Kaemingk added a double-double with eleven points and ten rebounds.

Up Next

The Eagles next travel to their old rivals of St. Scholastica in Duluth on Wednesday, November 16th. The tip is scheduled for 7:00 pm.