ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team made its 2024-25 home debut Tuesday night and was eager to quickly get the taste of a 22-point, season-opening loss to Hamline University out of its mouth. The adversary on Tuesday was Northwestern's neighbor to the north, Bethel University. UNW brought a two-game winning streak against the Royals into the contest, but the new-look Eagles were unable to extend it. Despite a tight game throughout, Bethel was able to pull away for an 84-73 win.
Much of Northwestern's first half success could be attributed to an explosive 20 minutes of play from sophomore guard
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy), who scored UNW's first four points of the night. After an
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) put-back put the Eagles ahead, Bethel went on a 6-0 run before
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley) knocked down a three-pointer to trim the deficit to one at 10-9. The Royals edged back ahead, 14-9, but Greene went to work again, scoring back-to-back buckets before picking up a steal and a breakaway layup to put the home team ahead, 15-14, and provide a spark to the Ericksen Center. A nifty post move by
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) made it an 8-0 run and a three-point Eagles lead when all was said and done.
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) got involved down low shortly thereafter with a post finish to keep the lead at three, but Bethel was able to slip back ahead with a 5-0 spurt. Greene scored four straight to give UNW a 24-22 advantage, then freshman
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) checked in and scored his first career points. He would go on to score six points in just a few minutes to put Northwestern in front, 30-27. After the Royals evened the score at 30, Anderson,
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) and
Noah Deedrick (Rochester, Minn./Century) teamed up to manufacture a 6-0 run. Bethel was able to close the gap to just a point before Greene buried his only triple of the night to give UNW the largest lead it would have for the remainder of the night at 41-35. Nyamari hit a pull-up jumper to make it 43-38, Eagles, but the visitors scored the final six points of the half to take a 44-43 lead into the locker room. Greene had a remarkable 17 points at the break to lead Northwestern in just his second career start.
After a guard provided the scoring juice in the first half, it was UNW's bigs that carried them early in the second. Burns scored Northwestern's first seven points out of the intermission, then delivered a perfect high-low lob assist to Anderson to put the Eagles back in front at 52-51. Deedrick took advantage of consecutive shot clock violations forced by Northwestern's defense, hitting a pair of free throws after the first and a three-pointer after the second that brought the crowd, and UNW's bench, back to life. After Bethel was able to retake the lead, Deedrick stole the show again, nailing another three and finishing inside on the very next possession to give his team a 64-63 edge. The Royals responded with a 10-0 run, and Northwestern was never quite able to recover. Four straight Anderson points got the Eagles within two at 75-73, but Bethel rattled off a 9-0 run to close out the win, 84-73.
Northwestern had four in double figures, led by Greene's 19 points, four rebounds and two steals. Anderson chipped in 13 points and eight boards, while Deedrick finished with 12 points on 4-6 shooting (2-2 from three). Burns tallied 10 points and eight rebounds (three offensive), while Nyamari snagged five boards. Stevens blocked a pair of shots as well. Bethel rode impressive performances from Payton Thomsen (29 points, eight rebounds), Adam Mattes (22 points) and Nick Burke (17 points, 10 rebounds). The Royals made 12 threes compared to UNW's five, and went 14-17 from the free throw line. Northwestern attempted 12 free throws and made eight. The Eagles did win the turnover margin, 13-6.
Northwestern will travel up north to Duluth on Saturday to take on former UMAC foe St. Scholastica. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
