RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The only time any University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team has started a season 6-0 was in 2005. Through 18 minutes on Tuesday night, it appeared the 2023-24 team might fall short of that mark by one game, as the University of Wisconsin-River Falls held a commanding lead over the Eagles. Thanks to some momentum to close out the first half and a second half performance that can only be described as a blitzkrieg of offense, the 2023-24 squad erased a 16-point deficit on the road and won 77-69 to claim its sixth win in as many games and tie the best start in program history.
The Eagles got on the board first thanks to a
Micah Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) pull-up jumper, but the 2-0 lead would be their last for quite some time. The Falcons scored five straight to take the lead, and the teams would go on to trade buckets for the next several possessions, many of Northwestern's coming from
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy), who scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half. Down 12-8,
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) checked in for UNW and immediately grabbed an offensive rebound, laying the ball back in to pull the Eagles within two at 12-10; however, UWRF answered with a 10-0 run.
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley) broke up the run with a three-pointer, but the Falcons responded with nine straight. Although Hoilien would go on a 5-0 run by himself, the Falcons at one point led by as many as 16 in the opening half.
With UW-River Falls leading 34-20 with two minutes left, things were looking bleak for the purple and gold. The Eagles were able to swing a little momentum back their way before the half as Hoilien scored back-to-back layups and Behne hit a tough jumper off a spin move in the lane to beat the halftime buzzer. The 6-0 run closed the gap to eight points at the break.
Pocernich once again opened the half with a bucket (he seems to have a knack for this) off an offensive rebound by
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove), and the Eagles continued to ride the momentum they picked up at the end of the first half.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) drilled a three on the next possession to make it an 11-0 UNW run and cut the Falcons' lead to three. UWRF answered with a basket to end their scoreless drought, but Behne buried a three to trim the lead to just two.
The second half of play continued to morph into must-see TV, as Fahnbulleh knocked down a tough pull-up jumper to pull within one. After a Falcons three, a tremendously confident Behne buried another triple to again bring the Eagles back within one point, then hit another one moments later to give Northwestern its first lead since 2-0, at 49-47.
UW-River Falls regained the lead on a three-pointer, but UNW took control of the game for goof with a 9-0 run that included five points from
Jeremiah Lavelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy). UWRF tried to climb back with a 4-0 spurt, but Lavelle shut that down in a hurry, drilling an incredibly difficult, step-back three. Fahnbulleh followed that up with his first three-ball of the season, and Lavelle continued his hot streak with his third make from downtown of the second half alone to put UNW up by nine. Behne hit his fourth and final trey of the game after a Fahnbulleh offensive rebound to stretch the lead back to nine, Nyamari drew an offensive foul with under a minute left, and the Eagles iced the game with free throws.
The 77-69 victory was historic in itself, and even more impressive given the large deficit early in the game. Northwestern out-scored UW-River Falls 51-35 in the second half. UNW once again one the rebounding battle for the game (45-34), and shot 58.8% from behind the arc (10-17) in the second half. Hoilien finished with a team-high 20 points and added seven rebounds, while Behne scored 19 on 50% shooting from both the field (6-12) and from three (4-8). Behne also led the team in rebounds with nine from the point guard position. Lavelle chipped in 11 points and six boards while Pocernich added seven and five. Fahnbulleh (eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks), Nyamari (seven points, four rebounds, five assists) and Koehler (five rebounds, three assists) all had strong nights in various areas as well.
Northwestern will have some much-deserved time off before returning home on Saturday, December 2
nd. The Eagles will square off in the back half of a Women-Men doubleheader at 3:00 PM. Catch all the day's action on the Eagle Sports Network.
