ST. PAUL, Minn. – Coming off a heartbreaking loss at Carleton College on Wednesday night, things certainly were not going to get any easier for the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team. A matchup with Central College, the defending regular season champion in the American Rivers Conference, awaited the Eagles on Saturday. The Dutch of Central exploded out of the gates and never looked back, picking up an 87-73 win in the Ericksen Center.
Northwestern hung around in the opening minutes, trailing 9-6 after two field goals from
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) and one from
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove), who was recognized before the game for scoring his 1,000
th career point last weekend, but Central ripped off a 13-0 run to lead by double digits, which they would do for the remainder of the game. UNW got some good bench minutes in the first half from
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) (four points, two offensive rebounds) and
Jeremiah LaVelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) (four points, three rebounds), while Hoilien and
Micah Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) led the way with eight and five points, respectively. At the break, Central led, 50-32.
The Eagles chipped away at that lead early in the second half, which started with a Fahnbulleh layup.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka), who was held in check with just two first half points after an explosive, 28-point outing at Carleton, hit his first three of the game one minute into the half, and Hoilien followed that up with a jumper on the next possession. Central got a layup from its 6'10" center to pause the UNW run, but Nyamari connected from deep again to trim the lead to 10 at 52-42. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that would be the closest they would get the rest of the way.
Koehler made an impact as soon as he re-entered the game, scoring four straight points to make it 65-51 in favor of Central. Hoilien added five more points, but they were sandwiched in between Central points and Northwestern wasn't able to inch much closer.
Noah Deedrick (Rochester, Minn./Century) scored on back-to-back possessions in the game's final minutes, and UNW got highlight plays from freshmen
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and
Kollin Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) down the stretch as well. When the dust settled, Central came away with an 87-73 victory. The loss brings Northwestern's record to 7-4 on the season.
Hoilien was the only Eagle in double figures Saturday, finishing with 15 points and three blocks. Nyamari and Pocernich each scored nine, with Nyamari adding two assists and Pocernich four rebounds. Koehler and Fahnbulleh each logged eight points and three boards, with the latter adding two assists. LaVelle chipped in six points and four rebounds as well.
The Eagles will take some time off for finals and Christmas and return to the Ericksen Center on January 2
nd to take on Macalester College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM and you can catch all the action on the Eagle Sports Network.
