WAVERLY, Iowa – The Iowa takeover continued for University of Northwestern athletics on Saturday, as the penultimate contest in the Hawkeye State featured the Men's Basketball team taking on Cornell College. The contest was a non-conference, neutral floor tilt as part of Wartburg's Buzz Levick Tournament. The Eagles appeared to have the game in hand most of the way, but a late charge by the Rams made the 75-71 ballgame an intense finish.
The Eagles scored the first points of the game on an inside finish by
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove). Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the early goings, but UNW did its damage inside early on. Hoilien and Fahnbulleh combined for an 8-0 run in the paint to give Northwestern a 10-2 lead and force a Cornell timeout. The Rams found their footing, but
Jeremiah Lavelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) knocked down a three-pointer to extend the lead to 17-9.
Northwestern's lead hit double-digits for the first time with 7:05 left when Fahnbulleh found Hoilien for a triple to make it 24-13 in favor of the purple and gold. Hoilien again stretched the largest lead when
Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) found him in an open spot of the Rams' zone defense to put UNW up 12.
Micah Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) and Fahnbulleh hit back-to-back baskets to put the Eagles up 32-16, and
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) closed the half in style, making a nifty layup to beat the buzzer and give Northwestern a 34-18 lead at the break. Hoilien had a productive half with 13 points, while Fahnbulleh added 10, two rebounds and two assists. All 5'10" of Behne led all rebounders with six in the opening 20.
Just over a minute into the second half, Pocernich began to heat up from deep. The senior scored the half's first points on a three-pointer courtesy of a Fahnbulleh offensive rebound, then hit another one to extend UNW's lead to 43-24. Behne joined in on the fun, making a three of his own, then Pocernich stole the spotlight right back with another trey to stretch the lead to 23.
Ryan Schneider (Longmont, Colo./Longmont) hit a pull-up jumper on the next possession, then shortly after, made a three-pointer himself to give Northwestern the largest lead it would hold all day at 24.
The Rams went on a brief run which forced a
Tim Grosz timeout, but Pocernich stepped up and drilled his fourth three of the day to put UNW back up by 17. Cornell wasn't finished though, as the Rams again took control and cut the lead to 10, which was quickly answered by a Behne layup. The Rams continued to stay hot, trimming the lead all the way down to five before Behne again responded, this time with a pull-up jumper from the free throw line.
Hoilien buried a timely three to put UNW back up by eight with three minutes left, and
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) calmly swished two free throws with 1:05 left to make the lead eight once again. Hoilien knocked down a free throw of his own to put the Eagles up six with 17 seconds left, but the Rams scored on the other end. It was up to Behne to convert from the charity stripe this time, and the sophomore made both attempts. Nyamari rebounded a missed three-point attempt by Cornell with six seconds left, made one free throw, and that was all she wrote. The Rams did make a three as time expired but it was too little, too late as UNW prevailed, 75-71.
Hoilien led the way for UNW with 17 points, while Pocernich added a season-high 16 and led the team in three-pointers with four. Behne was huge for the Eagles as well, chipping in 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Fahnbulle finished a perfect 5-5 from the field for his 11 points, four boards and five assists. Nyamari had a quiet shooting day but ripped down nine rebounds to do his part.
The win puts Northwestern at 5-0 to start its season and caps off a 2-0 weekend in Waverly. The Eagles will be on the road once again Tuesday, November 21
st as they visit the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for another tough non-conference showdown. Tip-off in River Falls is set for 7:00 PM as part of a JV-Varsity doubleheader.
