ST. PAUL, Minn. – With only one starter returning from last season's team, the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team looks a little different this year. In addition to four new starters,
Tim Grosz begins his 25
th year at the helm with multiple freshmen expected to play big roles. Aside from Herculean offensive performances from
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) and
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham), the growing pains of an inexperienced squad were evident in Saturday's season-opening contest at Hamline University, as the Eagles suffered a 94-72 loss to a Pipers team expected to finish near the top of the MIAC this season. The loss ends a three-game winning streak over Hamline, dating back to 2021.
Nyamari, the only returning starter for UNW, got going right off the bat, scoring four early points.
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) knocked down a three-pointer as well to keep Northwestern even with Hamline at 7-7. The Pipers were able to open up a 17-9 lead before Nyamari stopped the bleeding with a three of his own. Hamline stretched its advantage to 26-12 after a 9-0 run, which was ended by a layup from freshman big man
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista). Nyamari hit a three to cut it to nine, but that is the closest the Eagles would get for the remainder of the game. The junior finished the first half with 17 points, but UNW trailed 51-31 at the intermission. Hamline shot a blistering 60% from the field and went 8-16 from three in the opening half.
Northwestern scored the first three points of the second half, but the Pipers stayed piping hot out of the break. Anderson, making his first career start, continued to play well down low, scoring five straight points, and a fastbreak layup by Nyamari sealed a 7-0 run that got the Eagles within 14 at 57-43. Hamline righted the ship; however, eventually pulling ahead, 75-51. Nyamari and Anderson continued to pour in points until the final buzzer, but stops were hard to come by for Northwestern on the defensive end. Hamline would go on to win, 94-72, thanks to a 52% effort from deep (13-25) and 54.4% from the field.
The Eagles shot better in the second half, scoring 41 points on 55.2% shooting. Nyamari finished with 32 points and made four of his eight three-point attempts. He also grabbed six rebounds. Anderson led the team in rebounds with seven and poured in 16 points on 7-9 shooting. Burns scored nine points, while
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) pulled down five rebounds in his first career start. Freshman
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) grabbed six boards and finished with team-highs of three assists and two steals.
Northwestern will make its home debut Tuesday night when it takes on Bethel University at 7:00 PM. UNW's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is running a food drive at the game, so please consider bringing a canned good or donating money if you feel led to do so.
