ST. PAUL, Minn. – No team in the modern era of University of Northwestern Men's Basketball has ever started a season 7-0. That is, until Saturday. A dominant second half for the Eagles on both ends of the floor clinched history for the purple and gold, as UNW outscored Maranatha Baptist University 49-20 in the final 20 to win 84-44 at the Ericksen Center.
A back-and-forth game early on, Northwestern did most of its damage inside.
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) put up 15 of his 21 points in the first half, and most of them occurred in the painted area.
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) added six early points down low as well. The Eagles' lead was just 24-21 when they got a spark off the bench from
Jeremiah Lavelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy). The sophomore scored five points down the stretch in the opening half to highlight an 11-2 run to close it out.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) added an acrobatic layup that electrified the Ericksen Center.
From that point on, it was all Northwestern. All five starters made baskets in successive order to open the second half and increase the lead to 46-28. Back-to-back threes by Nyamari and
Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River), plus more strong play from Lavelle put UNW in front 57-30. The Eagles then ripped off a 14-2 run that included four points each from Nyamari and
Ryan Schneider (Longmont, Colo./Longmont). Buckets by
Kollin Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy),
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) and
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy), plus two from
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes), closed out the 84-44 win for the Eagles.
The historic win saw Northwestern take control in every phase of the game, notably in the second half. While neither team shot particularly well from deep, Northwestern made its hay inside. The Eagles scored 52 points in the paint on the afternoon compared to the Sabercats' 14 and made 50.7% of their field goals as opposed to Maranatha's 25.7%. They also out-rebounded MBU 40-28 and won the turnover battle, 7-20.
Fahnbulleh was as efficient as ever to lead UNW's scoring efforts. The senior made nine of his 12 field goal attempts and all three of his free throws en route to a 21-point, five rebound effort. Nyamari had a solid all-around game as well, tallying 14 points, seven assists and four boards. Behne chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. Lavelle finished with nine points and five boards, while Hoilien added eight and five. Koehler was second on the ream in rebounds with six in just 11 minutes of action.
Next up, the Eagles will look to remain unbeaten as they partake in their first conference weekend of the season. Friday night they will travel to Martin Luther College to kick off conference play. Start time in New Ulm is scheduled for 7:15 PM.
