ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – University of Northwestern Men's Basketball traveled to Crown College on Saturday afternoon for their fifth-consecutive conference road game. The Eagles earned a hard-fought 77-67 win at the Polars, extending their winning streak to four games. UNW entered the day with a 6-3 conference record, standing just one game behind the UW-Superior Yellowjackets and two behind the conference-leading Bethany Lutheran Vikings. With the win and a Viking victory over the Yellowjackets, the Eagles ended the day tied for the second-best conference record in the UMAC at 7-3.
 
Northwestern started the game strong, taking an early lead over the Polars. The Eagles went up by as many as 14 points in the first half when Kyle Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) hit a three-pointer to give UNW a 28-14 lead with 6:50 remaining before halftime. At that juncture, Crown started to find their footing and rally, cutting the Eagles lead down to 31-28 with a minute and a half on the clock. The Polars would tie the game in the final minute with a three-point shot and then drove down the court to fly to the basket for a layup as time expired to take a 33-31 lead into halftime; their first lead of the day.
 
The Eagles settled and adjusted at the half. Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) hit a three for the first basket of the second half, giving UNW their lead back up 34-33. Northwestern kept up the offensive attack, pushing their lead back up to 14 points on a Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) jumper with 13:57 remaining, going up 54-40. Crown kept up the fight and cut the Eagles lead down to just four points with a three-point shot, trailing just 58-54 with 6:47 to go. UNW responded by going back up by double digits just two minutes later, leading 66-56. The Polars were able to get within five points of the Eagles in the final three minutes, but Northwestern kept making their shots as they pulled away to a 10-point, 77-67 victory.
 
Northwestern improved from 37.5 percent (12-for-32) shooting in the opening half to 50.0 percent (17-for-34) in the second, scoring 15 more points in the second half than in the first to clinch the win. The Eagles were dangerous from three-point range throughout the game, shooting 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from beyond the arc to the Polars' 23.1 percent (6-for-26).
 
Kyle Kaemingk (Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy) led the Eagles with 27 points in the game to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. Over his last four games, the senior has averaged 29.5 points per game to lead UNW in their four-game win streak.
 
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) followed Kaemingk with 18 points. Seth Fuqua (Colorado Springs, Colo./The Vanguard School) scored 12 in the game, going 4-for-4 from three-point range. Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) just missed a double-double with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
  
The Eagles stand just two games behind the 9-1 Bethany Lutheran Vikings with four games to go, one of which is at BLC. UNW is responsible for the only conference loss the Vikings have this year, defeating them 83-79 back on January 14.
 
Up next, Northwestern will finally return to the Ericksen Center for their first home game in nearly a month. The Eagles will host the Northland College Lumberjacks for a conference battle at 5:30 P.M. on Friday, February 10.