LINCOLN, Neb. – The University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team is far from home for the holiday, as the Eagles are participating in the two-day Snyder Classic, hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University. Day one of the event pitted Northwestern against the hosts, who are receiving votes in the d3hoops.com Top 25 Poll this week. The Prairie Wolves were able to defend their home court to the tun of an 81-57 Black Friday victory.
UNW's early offense was as balanced as it gets, as six different Eagles scored the team's first 12 points. Unfortunately, Nebraska Wesleyan's offense was hotter, as it scored 29 points in that same span.
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) put up 10 points in the first half, but Northwestern never got closer than 16 points. NWU led 52-29 at the half.
Seven early points from
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) and six from
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) brought Northwestern within 13 (62-49) nearly halfway through the second half. The Prairie Wolves weathered the storm and were able to score nine straight to put the game out of reach. The final score read 81-57 in favor of Nebraska Wesleyan.
Nyamari led UNW's scoring efforts with 15 points and added four rebounds. Anderson was a perfect 5-5 from the field en route to 12 points, four boards and two steals, while Burns added nine points.
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists, while Vincent led the team with five assists.
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and
Lewis Wolbert (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) each pulled down five boards, with the latter contributing three assists as well.
The Eagles will be back at it Saturday at 3:00 PM for day two of the Snyder Classic. They will take on Central College, who defeated Concordia College (Minn.) in game one of the event on Friday.
