SUPERIOR, Wis. - The Northwestern men's basketball team wrapped up their final road game Saturday night as they took on the Yellowjackets of the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The Eagles had the hot hand tonight as they beat the Yellowjackets 77-62. UNW improves their record to 17-6 (11-1 UMAC) on the season. With the win and just two conference games remaining, the Eagles clinched at least a share of the UMAC Regular Season Championship, their 16th in the past 21 years, due to their two-game lead over second-place Bethany Lutheran (9-3 UMAC) in the conference standings.
Superior found the very first bucket of the game before Northwestern found a couple of threes and layups to take an 11-4 lead in the first five and a half minutes. After an exchange of baskets, the Yellowjackets found a run of their own as they closed in by two points with a little more than half of the first half to play. The three ball for UNW kept on falling as they rebuilt their lead to 34-23 with a little less than four minutes to go. Both teams continued to battle until the end of the half as the Eagles held a double-digit lead, 39-28 going into the lockers.
The Eagles shot 14-for-29 for a solid 48.3 percent from the field. Half of those field goals were from beyond the arc as they were on fire, shooting 7-for-14 in the half.
Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) and
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) were exceptionally hot as they combined for 25 of the 39 points for UNW. Northwestern also dominated the boards as they won the first half battle 23-14.
UNW started the second half like they were still playing in the first half by knocking down a three pointer as
Caleb Waldeck (Newhall, Calif./Hart High) drained his second of the night. Superior continued to battle as they got within 10 points with 14 minutes left in the second half. But the Eagles, with their creative passing and stoic defense, continued to keep the Yellowjackets out of reach. With eight minutes left, back-to-back three pointers and a layup by UWS started to close the gap that UNW had. Although a comeback seemed to be on the horizon, Northwestern quickly closed the doors on Superior as they won the game 77-62.
UNW for a second night in a row put on a shooting clinic as they finished the game shooting 52.7 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from the three-point line, and 69.2 percent from the charity stripe. They nearly doubled the amount of rebounds the Yellowjackets had as they finished with 40 to Superior's 21. Northwestern's 14 offensive rebounds resulted in 20 second chance points.
The dynamic duo of Alm and Fahnbulleh led the Eagles in scoring with 25 and 18 a piece, Fahnbulleh also brought down seven rebounds. Tied for third in scoring was
Owen Boerema (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) and Waldeck who both had eight points. Boerema had a team high nine rebounds while Waldeck had a team high six assists.
Northwestern will be back home in the Ericksen Center next week as they close out the regular season with their final two games. They will be hosting the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College on Friday, February 18 at 7:15 p.m. For all things UNW Men's Basketball, fans can follow along at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwmbb.
