ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Northwestern men's basketball team hosted the Knights of Martin Luther Saturday afternoon as they wrapped up the regular season. The Eagles made a season high 18 three pointers in an 85-56 victory over the Knights. Northwestern improves their record to 19-6 (13-1 UMAC) on the season with the win.
Martin Luther started the scoring for both teams 25 seconds into the game. After each team traded baskets, the three point fiesta for Northwestern began. It started with
Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) hitting two consecutive threes and it just continued throughout the rest of the team. By the halfway mark in the opening half, UNW had outscored the Knights 32-12.
Speaking of Alm, the senior could not miss from three. The senior shot 9-10 from the field while hitting all six of his attempted threes taken in the first half. As the half came to an end and the dust had settled, the scoreboard showed the Eagles leading 60-25.
It was a shooting barrage in the first half as UNW knocked down 57.5 percent of their total shots. They connected on 14 threes in the first half, two shy of their team high this season in a single game. Northwestern dominated the rebound game as they outrebounded the Knights 27-12, including seven offensive boards. The reason they were able to connect on so many shots was due to their passing game as they had 23 made buckets with 17 of those coming off of assists.
It was a much calmer second half from the side of Northwestern as they closed the game out winning 85-56. UNW was able to drain four more threes for a season high 18 made three pointers in the game.
Overall, the Eagles finished shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from beyond the arc. They continued to pass the rock as they finished with 24 assists as a team. They harassed the Knights defensively as they had six blocks and seven steals.
The two seniors could not have asked for a better final regular season game as Alm finished with 27 points and five rebounds in just 21 minutes while
Caleb Waldeck (Newhall, Calif./Hart High) scored 11 and dished out a team high four assists.
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) had a hot game as he knocked down four of his five attempted three pointers for a total of 16 points and also swatted away two shots. Leading the team in rebounds was
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) who brought down nine boards as he also put away eight points
Northwestern will be back on Tuesday as the UMAC Quarterfinals begin. Northwestern, being the number one seed, will look to take the conference in front of Ericksen Center. Their first game will be on Tuesday, February 22. For all things UNW Men's Basketball, fans can follow along at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwmbb.
