ST. PAUL, Minn. – Facing a crucial game to avoid falling to 0-3 in conference play, the University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team delivered on Wednesday night. Hosting Martin Luther College in their first UMAC home game, the proverbial lids lifted off the rims, allowing the Eagles to put together their best shooting performance of the season in a dominant, 87-95 win. To add to the jubilation of the big win, senior guard
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) scored his 1,000
th-career point in the first half and finished with 31 for the game, the third time this season he has scored 30-plus.
Nyamari got the party started, scoring the game's first points and UNW's first seven, but the hosts still trailed until a pair of
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) free throws tied the game at nine. Northwestern took its first lead of the night on a Nyamari jump shot, and a 6-0 run from Greene and
Will Foster (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) made it a 22-15 lead with 6:46 to go in the opening half. Northwestern's lead reached double digits for the first time on Nyamari's milestone-reaching three-pointer with 2:52 on the clock, which also ignited an 11-0 Eagles run, comprised of two
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) threes and five Nyamari points, putting the score at 39-21. MLC was able to hit a pair of triples in the final minute to trim its deficit to 40-27 entering halftime.
Despite the strong finish to the half from deep, UNW shot just 26.7% (4-15) from behind the arc in the first half.
Ben Tschida (Andover, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) drilled one from distance to open the second half, which proved to be a foreshadow of what the rest of the half would bring. The Knights were able to pull within 11 before a pair of layups from sophomores Frazell and
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista), plus two pull-up jumpers from Greene, stretched the lead back to 17. Martin Luther then went on a 12-3 spurt to make it a seven-point game, but that is where the three-point barrage began. Northwestern's next eight field goals all came from deep, four from Frazell and three from Nyamari. MLC, to its credit, also shot well during the run, but the Knights traded twos for threes, as the Eagles shredded its zone defense. The hosts finally moved inside the three-point line for their final four buckets of the night, including a layup through contact for freshman
Ethan Van Schepen (Rochester, Minn./Schaeffer Academy) that made the final score 87-65.
UNW shot 46.4% from three for the game and 69.2% (9-13) in the second half alone, while also out-rebounding its counterpart by 10. Nyamari exploded for 31 points, adding six rebounds and two blocks on 5-9 shooting from three. Frazell went 6-12 from deep for 22 points and four steals, while Greene chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. Hoefs finished with eight points, six boards and three steals, and Foster contributed eight points, six rebounds and six assists.
Isaac Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) also tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
Northwestern will be back at home Saturday to take on Minnesota Morris, who leads the UMAC with a 2-0 conference record. Tip-off in the Ericksen Center is scheduled for 2:45 PM, following the conclusion of the women's game.
