ST. PAUL, Minn. – The foe was anything but familiar for the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team on Wednesday night. The Eagles squared off with fellow NCCAA member Spurgeon College for the first time in each program's history at the Ericksen Center for the final non-conference game of the 2023-24 campaign. The Knights' prolific offense came in averaging 98.5 points per game, but the Eagles put the clamps on them for 40 minutes and came away with a 78-57 victory.
After a slow start,
Micah Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) got the ball rolling with a three-pointer to give Northwestern a 3-2 lead. The Knights struck back, but
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) knocked down a trey of his own to make it 6-4, UNW. That's when Northwestern's bench unit took the floor and continued doing what they've been doing in recent games.
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) scored off an assist from
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley), then picked up an assist himself on a
Ryan Schneider (Longmont, Colo./Longmont) layup. The big man then grabbed an offensive rebound and finished the tip-in to give the Eagles a 12-9 edge.
The Knights were able to tie it up before
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) and
Jeremiah LaVelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) teamed up for an 8-0 run (five from Nyamari and three from LaVelle) to give UNW a 20-12 cushion. Spurgeon trimmed the lead to four at 24-20, but UNW ripped off an 8-0 run to seize control, thanks to a tough layup through contact from Vincent and threes from Nyamari and LaVelle.
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove), who had been quiet most of the first half, got on the board with Northwestern's final four points of the half. Spoiler alert: he would not stay quiet for long. At the break, the Eagles held a 36-26 lead.
Spurgeon opened the second half with solid offensive output, but the Eagles seemed to have an answer every time. Layups from Nyamari and LaVelle, and a patented Fahnbulleh jump hook kept UNW's lead at 10 (42-32). The Eagles' reserves then checked back in and didn't miss a beat. Schneider made back-to-back cutting layups to stretch the lead to 14, and a Koehler bucket made it 15. Hoilien hit a jumper with 11:19 remaining to give the Eagles a 52-36 advantage, but the Knights cut the deficit to 11 with 10:31 left. That's when Fahnbulleh decided to close the door.
The senior scored on back-to-back possessions to put UNW up 13, then
Parker Behne (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) joined the fun with a layup the next time down the floor to make it 15. On Spurgeon's next possession, Fahnbulleh stole the ball and made an acrobatic layup while getting fouled. He made the free throw and followed that up with scoring on the following possession as well, after a steal by Vincent. The Knights scored to seemingly stop the bleeding, and called timeout, but the Maple Grove native was not done. He scored on the ensuing two possessions to cap off a thrilling, 15-4 spurt in which the senior scored 13 points and Northwestern came away with points in seven consecutive trips.
Although the exclamation point had already been applied, Koehler added four more points in the game's final minutes, and
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) put up five. The Eagles closed out a 78-57 home win to capture their 10
th win of the season and extend their winning streak to two. UNW shot 50% from the field, did not miss a free throw, and out-rebounded the Knights by a 33-19 margin.
Individually, Fahnbulleh led the way with a game-high 19 points on 8-10 shooting, while adding six rebounds. Hoilien and Nyamari chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. LaVelle finished with 10 points and seven boards. Koehler, in only 14 minutes, put up 10 points and pulled down six rebounds. Vincent contributed six points and five rebounds.
Next up for the Eagles will be a chance at redemption, as they travel to North Central on Saturday. The Rams defeated UNW, 81-65, at the Ericksen Center earlier this month. It will be a key matchup for UMAC positioning as the home stretch of the season begins, with both teams battling for playoff spots. Tip-off in Minneapolis is scheduled for 4:45 PM, following the conclusion of the women's game.
