ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saturday at St. Scholastica, the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team got off to a slow start before getting hot and overcoming a big deficit. Tuesday at Macalester College, Northwestern did the opposite, starting out hot before allowing things to get tight down the stretch. Luckily for the Eagles, both games resulted in wins as they improved to 2-2 on the young season with an 83-72 win over Macalester.
The Scots got on the board first, but it would be the only time UNW would trail all night, as it went on a 12-0 tear to seize control of the game.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) led that spurt with seven points, while
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) and
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley) also scored. A jumper by AJ Green increased the lead to double digits, and contributions off the bench from
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) (five points) and
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) (three points) helped extend the lead to 26-11. Anderson continued to dominate the paint in the first half, scoring 11 in the opening 20. Additionally, continued sharp shooting by Nyamari and Greene allowed Northwestern to open up a commanding, 46-23 lead at the break.
The Eagles showed no signs of slowing down early in the second half, as
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) and Vincent each knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to 24. Macalester began to get hot from behind the arc, but UNW seemed to have an answer every time. Burns finished inside to get the lead back to 21 and four straight from
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista), including a transition dunk over a Scots defender with 12:03 left, appeared to be the dagger. Even as the clock bled under 10 minutes, Northwestern still was able to go bucket-for-bucket with MAC, as Nyamari hit another jumper and Vincent continued to be flawless at the free throw line.
An 8-0 run from Macalester suddenly made it a 14-point game, but Nyamari calmed the seas with another mid-range bucket. Another three from the Scots cut it to 13, but again it was Nyamari with the response. Eventually, the Eagles started missing some shots, but the home team did not. The Scots were able to pull within single digits and make it 74-66, but Burns hit a turnaround jumper in the paint to push it back to 10. The closest the margin got was six at 78-72, but UNW was able to close the game with five unanswered free throws from Nyamari and Vincent, and survived by an 83-72 score.
Northwestern was able to weather the storm despite the Scots making 10 of 20 three-point attempts in the second half. Part of UNW's success was a dominant effort in the paint (36-12), as well as points off turnovers (22-11). Nyamari led the way among five Eagles in double figures with 24 points on 9-14 shooting. Anderson and Green each scored 12 points, with the former (5-6 from the field) adding seven rebounds and the latter contributing three assists and three steals. Vincent played 37 minutes and was a steady presence for
Tim Grosz's unit, scoring a season-high 11 points and making all six of his free throws, including some huge ones down the stretch. He also dished out three assists and picked up two steals. Stevens also scored 11 and pulled down five boards.
Northwestern will be back in action Saturday, November 23
rd for a home game against St. Olaf College. The Eagles' fifth consecutive contest against a MIAC opponent to open the season will tip off at 3:00 PM.
