NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Following a disappointing 0-2 weekend to open up conference play, the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team hoped to keep its non-conference record undefeated on Wednesday night. The task would not be easy, as the opponent was defending MIAC champion Carelton College and the game took place on the Knights' home court. Despite a shooting clinic put on by Northwestern, the Knights were able to make a late surge to stun the Eagles, 87-81.
Northwestern got to work right away as
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) scored off the opening tip. A
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) jumper and a Micach Pocernich three-pointer gave UNW a 7-5 advantage, and Fahnbulleh tied the game at nine with a floater in the lane. The Knights responded with a 7-0 run, but
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) ended the run in style with a deep three-pointer. Nyamari making highlight reel plays would become a theme for the rest of the game.
Carleton went ahead 20-12, but
Jeremiah LaVelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) went on a solo, 5-0 run to close the gap. After a Knights field goal, Northwestern went streaking again, this time 6-0 thanks to an offensive rebound and put-back by
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and four more from LaVelle. A
Ryan Schneider (Longmont, Colo./Longmont) layup tied the game at 27 as the two potent offenses continued to trade blows.
Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) made things all square at 30 via a three-pointer, assisted by Fahnbulleh, and Nyamari put the Eagles in front with a three of his own on the next possession.
Pocernich gave Northwestern its largest lead to that point at 35-31 with a floater off the window. Nyamari continued to shoot the lights out when, with just over a minute left, he drilled a tough, contested three-pointer. Hoilien knocked down a trey on the following possession to stretch UNW's lead to seven at 41-34. Nyamari closed out the half with his 11
th point at the buzzer, which gave Northwestern a 43-35 advantage after closing the half on a 16-5 run. At the break LaVelle had nine points and four rebounds and the Eagles were dialed in from deep, having gone 7-10 from behind the arc compared to 3-17 for Carleton.
Pocernich opened the second half with a three, which gave UNW its first double digit lead of the night at 46-35 and seemed to indicate the Knights were in for a long night if Northwestern continued to shoot at such a high clip. The Knights, however, had other ideas, rattling off 12 straight points to take their first lead since the 7:56 mark in the first half. LaVelle decided to take matters into his own hands, ending that run and scoring twice more to put the Eagles ahead, 53-49, with 13:08 left.
As previously mentioned,
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) was terrific in the first half, scoring 11 points and making three of his four three-point attempts. In the final 13 minutes in Northfield, he took his game to an entirely new level. The legendary second half started with a fade-away jumper, which was followed by a deep, contested three that would undoubtedly register as red on the NBA 2K shot meter. The next two possessions featured successful pull-up jumpers from the sophomore and were the third and fourth UNW possessions in a row in which he scored.
Unfortunately for Northwestern, the Knights continued to stay within striking distance, even in the midst of a run of eight straight scoring possessions for the Eagles. LaVelle corralled an offensive rebound on the seventh and made the put-back layup, then Nyamari went coast-to-coast for a finger roll on the eighth to give UNW a 66-60 edge. Nyamari took a quick breather, but subbed back in once Carleton cut the lead to one. Wasting no time, the electrifying guard drilled his fifth three of the game with 6:47 remaining.
A Hoilien three gave the Eagles a little more breathing room at 73-67. With just over five minutes left and a 73-69 lead, Nyamari pulled off his biggest play of the night. Carleton double teamed the guard as soon as he crossed half-court, but he was narrowly able to pass out of it. When the defenders retreated, Nyamari got the ball right back and buried a 30-plus-foot shot without any hesitation as his opponents wondered if there was anything at all they could do to cool him down. Hoilien came through with another triple to make the lead 79-71 with 4:21 left, and the Eagles seemed to be in control. Remarkably, Carleton outscored Northwestern 16-2 in the final 4:21 to stun the sharpshooting Eagles and win, 87-81.
Despite ultimately drawing the short stick, UNW put together an impeccable shooting performance, making 53.1% of its field goals and a staggering 56.5% of its threes. By comparison, Carleton shot 42.2% from the field and 31.4% from three. The Eagles also out-rebounded the Knights and out-scored them in the paint. The difference came at the free throw line, where Carleton converted on 22 of its 26 attempts and Northwestern did not attempt a single one. The Knights also won the turnover battle, 13-4.
Individually, Nyamari put on a show, dropping a career-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. The sophomore made 11 of his 16 field goals and went 6-9 from deep. LaVelle was outstanding off the bench, contributing 18 points and eight boards. Hoilien and Pocernich each added 10 points, with the latter also snagging four rebounds. Fahnbulleh finished with six rebounds and three assists, while Behne added three and five, respectively.
The Eagles will look to regroup and end their three-game losing streak Saturday in the friendly confines of the Ericksen Center, but the opposition will once again be a tough test. Defending regular season, American Rivers Conference champion Central College (IA) will be in town for a 3:00 PM tilt. Catch all the action on the Eagle Sports Network.
