ST. PAUL, Minn. – With Saturday's Hoops Hysteria game tied at 37 at halftime between the University of Northwestern and Crown College men's basketball teams, the slate was clean and the table was set for an entertaining final 20 minutes in the Ericksen Center. Unfortunately for Eagles of past, present and future in attendance, most of the fun was had by the Polars—and by the two prospective students who sunk half-court shots to win $10,000 scholarships. Crown used three separate runs of seven or more points to pull away for an 85-73 win to improve to 3-2 in UMAC play, good for second place in the standings. Northwestern falls to 3-3 in the conference, putting it in fourth place.
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) opened the scoring with a three-pointer on UNW's opening possession, but the Polars came out hot and took a 9-5 lead. The Eagles answered with seven straight, including a three from
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka), who scored 14 points in the first half. Northwestern continued to try and keep up with Crown's high-octane guard play, getting seven more points from Nyamari and a trey from
Jonah Burnett (Orr, Minn./North Woods), but the Eagles found themselves in a 28-24 hole with 6:56 left in the half. Nyamari and
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) combined to score the game's next 10 points and fire up the Ericksen Center crowd, then Frazell answered a Crown three-pointer with one of his own. A 6-2 Polars run to finish the half evened the score at 37 heading into the break.
Foster found Hoefs for a layup to begin the second half, but Crown rattled off a 9-0 run to take a 46-37 advantage. Nyamari and Frazell took turns scoring on four-consecutive possessions, and an
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) hump shot brought the Eagles within two at 52-50. But as was the case all day, the Polars punched back, scoring seven-straight to extend their lead to nine. Greene and Foster attempted to ignite another comeback, but the visitors fought them off with another 7-0 spurt to increase the margin to 12 at 66-54. Foster and Nyamari brought Northwestern within eight with 6:51 left, but UNW would trail by double digits the rest of the way. A 7-0 run made it a 10-point game with 2:15 remaining, but it was too little, too late, as Crown emerged with an 85-73 win.
Nyamari led UNW with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Hoefs finished with 13 points, nine boards and four assists. Frazell contributed 12 points and six rebounds, and Foster chipped in 11 points, adding four assists. Greene was the fifth Eagle in double figures with 10. Ultimately, Northwestern was unable to overcome the difference in shooting splits, as the Polars held the edge in field goals (51.5%-39.7%) and three-pointers (47.4%-31.8%).
The Eagles will have their UMAC "bye" on Wednesday and will return to action on Saturday, January 31
st at Martin Luther. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:45 PM, following the conclusion of the women's game.
