MORRIS, Minn. – After a disappointing loss in its first conference road game Wednesday night, the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team got back on track Saturday, doing so in as exciting a fashion as you can find. The Eagles gave away a double-digit lead in the second half, but sophomore guard
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) dribbled the clock down with no shot clock and buried a fade-away jump shot in the closing seconds to give Northwestern (8-7, 3-1 UMAC) the win over the University of Minnesota Morris.
The Cougars opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley) got UNW on the board with a tough finish inside. A
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) drive, followed by a three and an and-one by
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) on the next two possessions, gave Northwestern a 10-5 advantage, then a Burns tip-in and a Vincent step-back jumper on consecutive trips made it 14-8. Morris responded with a 6-0 run to tie, but
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) ended that run by scoring on back-to-back possessions to make it 18-14. Stevens scored again just over a minute later off an assist from
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham), then Anderson got on the board himself on a pick-and-roll feed from
Lewis Wolbert (Milaca, Minn./Milaca). Greene made a pull-up jumper on Northwestern's next trip to extend the lead to 24-18.
With 6:42 left in the first half, Wolbert got in on the scoring himself with a trey. Just over a minute later, the Eagles scored on three straight possessions, getting two free throws from Burns, a left-handed hook shot from Anderson and a step-back jumper from Nyamari, making it 33-27. Burns tipped in an offensive rebound with 2:37 left, then Nyamari drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing trip to keep the lead at six. Greene scored the final four points of the opening half to make it 42-34 in favor of the visitors at the break.
Greene picked up where he left off in the closing seconds of the first, hitting a pull-up jumper to open the second-half scoring and stretch the lead to 10. Nyamari made another mid-range jumper, and Burns followed moments later with a transition layup that began with a block by the senior forward to give UNW its largest lead of the afternoon at 48-36. After four straight from the Cougars, Nyamari scored at the rim once again. A Stevens jumper pushed the Northwestern lead back to 10, but UMM continued to score two possessions to every one for the Eagles. A Nyamari three kept the hosts at an arm's length at 55-46, but Morris rattled off a 7-0 run before the junior guard stopped the bleeding with a pull-up to make the score 57-53.
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) knocked down a big three to extend the lead to eight, and a Greene turn-around, fade-away shot got the score to 63-57, but a 7-0 run by Minnesota Morris suddenly put UNW behind on the scoreboard.
Burns ended the run with a nice spin move and finish from under the hoop with just under three minutes left, which was followed by an Anderson layup and two Wolbert free throws on the next two Eagle possessions to put Northwestern ahead, 69-64, with 1:48 remaining. A 5-0 run by Morris tied the game at 69-all with 30 seconds left, allowing UNW to hold for the final shot. Coach
Tim Grosz called Greene's number, as the sophomore dribbled the clock under 10 seconds before knifing his way into the paint and fading away to his right. The southpaw buried the jump-shot with 2.1 seconds on the clock, and a half-court prayer from the Cougars was off the mark, giving Northwestern a hard-earned road win to improve to 3-1 in conference play and 8-7 overall. The win was especially gritty given that the Eagles were out-shot by UMM both from the field and from three.
Burns had the best game of his career, putting up career-highs in both points (16) and rebounds (12) for his first career double-double, in addition to a game-high three steals. Nyamari matched Burns with 16 points, adding four rebounds. Greene finished with 12 points and two steals, while Stevens chipped in nine points and four boards. Anderson snagged seven rebounds and Wolbert four, to go along with a team-high three assists.
Northwestern will be back at home Wednesday, January 22
nd to take on UW-Superior. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 PM in the Ericksen Center.
