MANKATO, Minn. – Postseason college basketball is known for its upsets, and through 22 minutes in Mankato on Wednesday night, it appeared an all-timer might be brewing in the 2024 UMAC Men's Basketball Semifinals. Bethany Lutheran College entered the game as the heavy favorite, having won all 14 of its regular season conference games. The University of Northwestern, on the other hand, had to win both of its final two regular season games in order to claw its way to the four seed in the postseason tournament. Not to mention, Bethany had defeated Northwestern, 99-71, earlier in the season in the very same North Gymnasium the two squared off in Wednesday night. The Eagles had the Vikings on the ropes early in the second half, but BLC proved why it ran the table in the UMAC and roared back for an 82-75 win to advance to the UMAC Championship game Saturday night.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka), coming off a strong game Saturday versus Crown, kept his hot hand as Wednesday's contest kicked off. The junior hit two threes as he scored UNW's first eight points and kept the Eagles within a point at 9-8.
Jeremiah LaVelle (Otsego, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) drilled a step-back three-pointer the following possession to keep the deficit at one, then
Andrew Koehler (Scandia, Minn./Chisago Lakes) spun into the lane and kissed it off the glass to give Northwestern its first lead at 13-12. On UNW's next trip,
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy) extended the lead to three with his first basket of the night. Northwestern wasn't done though, pushing their scoring spurt to 11-3 after Koehler and Hoilien both hit tough shots over Bethany's 6'8" big man, Hunter Nielsen.
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) got involved, going on a solo, 4-0 run to make it 25-20, Eagles, then LaVelle scored five straight UNW points to keep his team ahead by a 30-26 margin.
Micah Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright) buried a three from the parking lot to give Northwestern its largest lead of the first half at 33-26 with 2:45 left, but the Vikings responded with a 5-0 spurt. With the shot clock about to expire, Hoilien somehow shook free of the BLC defense and canned a three-pointer to put the Eagles up by five, then Pocernich got a tough shot to go on the ensuing trip to make it 38-31. At the half, Northwestern held a 38-33 edge thanks to a 6-12 effort from behind the arc and a balanced scoring attack.
Bethany Lutheran has earned the reputation as a second half team this season, due to several instances of letting their opponents hang around through 20 minutes before blitzing them in the final stanza. Northwestern came out of the locker room apparently determined to not let that happen, as
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) kicked the ball out to Hoilien for a three on the half's first possession. Pocernich then converted a step-back three a minute later, giving UNW its largest lead of the night at 44-35 and forcing BLC to call an early timeout. Whatever head coach Pat Garvin said to his team stuck, as the Vikings went on a 6-0 run before Pocernich made a floater to make it 46-41, Eagles.
Despite the home team gaining some momentum that raised the crowd noise with each made shot, Northwestern refused to go away. LaVelle made a floater of his own and a pull-up jumper to keep the Eagles ahead by four at 51-47. That's when the Vikings did what they so often do, exploding for a 13-0 run to seize control of the game. Hoilien ended the run with a sensational, up-and-under layup to trim the deficit to 60-53, but UNW would have its work cut out for it the rest of the way, as the conference champs had found their rhythm.
Northwestern showed a lot of fight, as Hoilien found Fahnbulleh on a high-low lob to cut the lead to six, then Fahnbulleh dropped a dime himself, finding a back-cutting Nyamari to make it 64-58. Pocernich hit another step-back three to pull UNW within four with 6:57 left, but BLC scored the next five points to regain its cushion. The Eagles made one final push, with Nyamari stealing a pass and scoring on the other end, LaVelle hitting a floater after a Fahnbulleh offensive board, and Nyamari knocking down his final three to pull within five at 77-72, but Bethany closed out the game at the free throw line and advanced to the UMAC Championship game with an 82-75 victory.
Nyamari led the individual scoring effort for the Eagles, dropping 21 points while adding six rebounds and two steals. Pocernich tallied 15 points, while LaVelle and Hoilien each put up their first double-double of the season. LaVelle had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Hoilien finished with 13 points, 10 boards and two assists. Fahnbulleh pulled down seven rebounds and led the team in assists with four.
Northwestern's season concludes with a 16-10 record and an impressive late-season surge to the conference tournament, as
Tim Grosz's squad won seven of its last eight regular season conference games to earn a seat at the table. Grosz and his staff will say goodbye to a special group of seniors:
Caleb Hoilien (Minneapolis, Minn./Hope Academy),
Micah Pocernich (Cromwell, Minn./Cromwell-Wright),
Ryan Schneider (Longmont, Colo./Longmont) and
Henry Fahnbulleh (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove). The foursome were members of the 2021 NCCAA National Championship team as well as the 2022 team which qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament, in addition to numerous individual honors in their time as Eagles.
