SUPERIOR, Wis. – Lou Brown from the movie
Major League II once famously said that three wins in-a-row is called a winning streak. The University of Northwestern Men's Basketball team sought out to claim exactly that for the first time this season on Wednesday night at one of the more difficult places to play in the UMAC: the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. The Eagles led by 14 with 12:44 left in the game, but needed some late-game heroics from
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) and
Will Foster (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) in order to survive a late surge from the Yellowjackets and head home with a 69-68 win that puts them in second place in the conference at 3-2.
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) and
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) were both dialed in from mid-range early, and an 8-2 run featuring three-pointers from Hoefs and
Isaac Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) gave Northwestern a 20-17 edge just over halfway through the opening half. After UW-Superior took a brief lead, Hoefs and
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) combined for a 6-0 run to make it 26-21. The lead eventually grew to seven on a Hoefs layup to reach the halftime score of 36-29.
After a lackluster 2-13 effort from deep in the first half, UNW came out hot in the second. After opening the scoring with a pair of free throws, Foster went on to drill a pair of threes and got another from
Ben Tschida (Andover, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy), putting the Eagles ahead, 49-36. The margin reached its apex of 14 when Aune hit another three after a Foster steal, but UWS put together a lightning-quick 15-2 run to make it clear it wasn't going away, trimming the deficit to one with 9:09 left. Greene and Nyamari knocked down shots from near and far to push the lead back to four, but the Jackets tied it less than a minute later for the first time since the 8:07 mark in the first half.
Northwestern responded with a 6-0 run, getting buckets from Nyamari, Foster and Hoefs, but Superior answered with five quick points to pull within one with 2:34 remaining. After a scoring drought of over two minutes, UWS got three offensive rebounds in one possession and converted the last for a tip-in to take the lead for the first time in 32 minutes and 13 seconds.
Tim Grosz opted to not call a timeout, and Hoefs proved him right, kissing a floater off the glass and in to regain the lead with 10 seconds left. The Yellowjackets pushed the other way after a UNW timeout, but Foster stripped the ball away from the driver and Tschida snatched it up, drawing a foul right before the buzzer. The Eagles escaped with a 69-68 victory to make it three-straight and put themselves in second place in the UMAC standings at 3-2.
It was a balanced scoring effort for UNW, who had five in double figures. Hoefs led the way with 15 and four rebounds, while Foster was all-around terrific again with 12 points, seven assists and five boards. Nyamari chipped in 11 points, four assists and four rebounds, while Frazell and Greene each tallied 10 points, and the latter four assists and two steals. Aune tied for the team lead in rebounds with five, and Tschida contributed three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Northwestern will be back at home Saturday, January 24
th for its annual Hoops Hysteria game, taking on the Crown College Polars at 2:45 PM. Catch all the action in the Ericksen Center or on the Eagle Sports Network, an affiliate of the UMAC Sports Network.
