MORRIS, Minn. – After falling to 1-5 in UMAC play on Friday night, it was paramount that the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team start to string some wins together in order to keep its playoff hopes alive. The assignment wouldn't be a simple one, however, as the Eagles had to travel to Minnesota Morris on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a strong first half, an even stronger finish, and the return of
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) to the starting lineup, Northwestern was able to knock off the Cougars by an 81-70 score.
The Eagles sped out of the gates, taking a 6-0 lead thanks to a
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) layup, a Nyamari three-pointer and a
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) free throw. Nyamari, who was eased back into the rotation Friday night with 15 minutes off the bench, later went coast-to-coast for a layup to make it 8-4, UNW. The Cougars made a run to take their first lead of the day, but Hoilien took matters into his own hands, scoring back-to-back buckets to put Northwestern back in front.
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley), coming off an 11-point outing Friday night, drilled a three to extend UNW's lead to five and hit a mid-range jumper moments later.
Morris was able to tie the score at 19, but
Jeremiah LaVelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) answered with a solo, 5-0 run to give his team the lead. The Cougars trimmed the lead to one at 24-23, but the Eagles got another jumper from Hoilien and threes from Vincent and Nyamari to make it 32-25 in favor of the purple and gold.
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) scored inside with under a minute left and Nyamari hit a step-back jumper to end the half, giving UNW a 38-31 advantage. Possibly more impressive than any offensive stats for the Eagles was that they had held Morris's Paul Dak, who is second in the league in scoring at 17.5 points per game, to just six first-half points.
The Cougars scored the first four points of the second half, but Nyamari stopped the bleeding with a spin move that left his defender in the dust to make it 40-35, Northwestern. A LaVelle three made it appear that the Eagles had seized the momentum back, but Morris rattled off an 11-0 run that sparked the home crowd. UNW was not fazed, however, as Fahnbulleh scored off a spin move and dished out an assist to Nyamari for three to make it 50-48, Eagles.
The game stayed tight, as Koehler ran down an offensive rebound which produced a
Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) three to tie things up at 55-apiece. With the Eagles down 60-58, Vincent knocked down a massive three, which was followed by five straight points from Hoilien to cap an 8-0 run and swing the momentum back in Northwestern's favor. After a Cougars basket, Nyamari drilled a pull-up three to extend the lead to seven, and later made a floater to give UNW a 71-64 edge. Nyamari, Fahnbulleh and LaVelle all made two free throws in the games final minutes, and Vincent made four to put the game on ice. The Eagles left town with a hard-fought, 81-70 win.
Nyamari was terrific in his return to the starting lineup, finishing with 22 points. Hoilien added 16 in addition to three assists. Vincent continued his strong play with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench. LaVelle chipped in with 10 points and eight boards, while Fahnbulleh finished with eight and ten, respectively. Koehler tallied six rebounds and three assists. Northwestern held the edge over Morris in many statistical categories, but perhaps the ley factor in Saturday's win was making 15 out of 16 free throws in the second half.
The win improved UNW to 9-8 overall and 2-5 in the UMAC. Morris fell to 8-9 and 3-4, respectively. The Eagles will make a brief pit stop into non-conference play on Wednesday night when they host Spurgeon College at 7:00 PM. It will be their final non-conference game of the season before finishing out the remainder of the UMAC season.
