ST. PAUL, Minn. – After taking down Bethany Lutheran College on Wednesday night, the road didn't get much easier for the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team, as a high-octane North Central University team paid the Eagles a visit on Saturday. In a fast-paced outing which featured 47 attempted three-pointers between the two squads, Northwestern was able to come away with an 87-82 win to begin UMAC play 2-0 and improve to 7-6 overall on the season.
UNW made a concerted effort to go inside early, scoring its first eight points in the paint, courtesy of
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham),
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) and
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy). North Central was able to shrink Northwestern's lead from 8-2 to 10-7, but Burns scored on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to seven.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) ignited a 10-3 UNW surge with a pull-up jumper and a three-pointer, while
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) hit a three of his own and
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) scored inside, making it 25-12. The Rams scored the next 10 points to tighten things up, but Anderson ended the run with another bucket in the low post.
Nyamari scored two more times to keep Northwestern in front, but NCU was soon able to edge in front. That is, until Frazell buried another three to tie the game at 38. The Eagles would go on to get baskets from
Lewis Wolbert (Milaca, Minn./Milaca), Frazell and Anderson on each of the next three possessions to close out the electric half with a 44-41 lead.
The second half would prove to be just as explosive as the first. UNW held a 52-51 lead before Greene scored on a baseline drive and a fadeaway jumper, and Stevens drilled a trey to give the Eagles a 7-0 run and a 59-51 advantage, which would be their largest of the second half. Nyamari made a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to keep his team up by six, but the Rams would soon trim their deficit to one at 67-66. Nyamari once again had the answer with a big steal and transition layup, but North Central responded right back.
With 4:58 left in the game, Nyamari found Wolbert for a short floater to get the lead back to three, and after NCU tied it at 71 with a three-pointer, it was once again Nyamari who made the big play, splashing a three of his own to break the tie with 3:52 remaining. The lead grew to six when the junior scored on a backdoor feed from Wolbert, which was followed by tough baskets from Greene and Wolbert to make it 81-76, Northwestern. From then until the clock hit 0:00, UNW got it done at the free throw line. Wolbert and Frazell each were perfect from the stripe as the Eagles closed out an 87-82 home win.
Nyamari was outstanding on the offensive end, scoring 26 points and dishing out three assists. Wolbert came off the bench to score 14 points, adding five rebounds and a game-high four assists. Greene contributed 11 points and two steals, while Burns and Frazell each chipped in 10 points. Stevens and Anderson each collected five boards, with the latter adding a pair of steals as well. The Eagles shot 50% from three (7-14) and 84.6% from the free throw line (22-26).
Northwestern (7-6, 2-0 UMAC) will travel to Martin Luther on Wednesday, January 15
th for its first conference road game. Tip-off in New Ulm is scheduled for 5:30 and the game can be streamed on the UMAC Sports Network.
