ST. PAUL, Minn. – When the University of Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran College men's basketball teams meet up, chances are pretty good things will go down to the wire. Such was the case on January 7
th, when the Vikings overcame a 16-point deficit to stun UNW by one in the conference opener, and also on Wednesday night, in a much higher-scoring, higher-energy game. The back-and-forth shootout ultimately went the way of BLC, thanks in large part to a late, 8-0 run in which the visitors surged in front for good, leading to a 95-90 win and a season sweep. With the result, Bethany is now in third place in the UMAC standings at 5-4, while Northwestern sits in sixth at 4-6, one game behind Crown and Martin Luther for the highly-coveted fourth place slot.
The Eagles struggled from deep early, but their guards were efficient inside the arc.
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) tied the game at 10 with a jump shot just over six minutes in, and a 7-0 run, capped off by a
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) three-point play, gave UNW a 17-12 lead. Bethany Lutheran scored the next eight points, but a pair of
Will Foster (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) three-pointers kept the hosts within two with six minutes to go before half. A 6-0 run extended the Vikings' lead to eight at 33-25, but Foster knocked down another triple to set a new career-high of three. A Nyamari three brought the Eagles within four, and UNW closed out the half on a 5-0 run, including Foster's fourth trey of the half, to make it a 41-38 lead for BLC at the break.
Already as red-hot as his hair, Foster continued his heater as the second half began, sinking a floater to open the scoring and make it a one-point game. Bethany seemed to be able to answer any buckets Northwestern would score on them, until
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) sparked an 8-0 run with six points, including a four-point play, to give UNW its first lead since the 10:50 mark of the first half, 55-53. The Eagles maintained the lead, thanks to a trio of threes from Nyamari, until the 9:02 mark, when the Vikings took a 73-72 lead after a 5-0 spurt. Northwestern regained the lead when Frazell was again fouled behind the arc (although this time he did not make the shot), and extended it to four when Foster sunk a trey through contact (he did not make the free throw).
A 6-2 run, four of which came from the graduate lacrosse player-turned point guard, made it an 86-82 Northwestern lead with 3:43 left in the game, but things went downhill for the team clad in gold from then on out. BLC quickly scored eight-straight points to surge ahead, 90-86, and the Eagles committed an unforced turnover on the other end. Free throws from
Isaac Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) and Nyamari made it a one-point game with 1:10 left, but UNW was unable to tie the game at the stripe despite two instances to do so in the final 70 seconds, perhaps the result of tired legs from Monday night's double-overtime loss at Bethel. Bethany Lutheran closed it out with two perfect trips to the line, resulting in a 95-90 final score.
Foster's career night resulted in personal-bests of 25 points, 10 field goals (13 attempts) and five three-pointers (seven attempts), in addition to five rebounds. Nyamari's streak of four-consecutive games of 30 or more points ended, but the senior was an efficient 7-14 from the field and 4-6 from three on his way to 23 points and five assists.
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) was terrific as well, logging 16 points and a career-high 14 boards, while Frazell and Greene each finished with 11 points and two steals. Aune collected seven rebounds, which ties his career-best. The stat sheet backed up how tight the score was, as the teams tied in total rebounds (38), turnovers (6) and made free throws (14). UNW shot slightly better from deep (37%-30%), while BLC was better from the field (50%-45.8%).
Northwestern will play its final home game of the season Saturday, February 14
th against North Central, where it will celebrate Senior Day by honoring Nyamari and Foster. Tip-off at the Ericksen Center is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
