ST. PAUL, Minn. – After scoring 30 points on an efficient 13-17 shooting performance in Saturday's loss at Martin Luther College, University of Northwestern Men's Basketball senior guard
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) apparently decided that wasn't going to be enough. Wednesday night against the University of Wisconsin-Superior, the Anoka native exploded for a career-high 40 points (tied for fifth in program history) and made 10 of his 13 three-point attempts, breaking the previous program record of eight, held by Anderson Bazile Jr. (2019), Tim Aalsma (1998) and Mike Fitzgerald (1991). Nyamari's teammates made an additional 10 threes, which ties the program-best of 20 set in 1995 against Crown, and allowed the Eagles to lead for the final 38:46 of the game en route to a convincing, 99-77 home win.
Will Foster (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) got Northwestern on the board with a three-pointer to give the hosts the lead for good, just 1:14 into the game. From that point, most of the remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth three-point shootout between Nyamari and
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock). Frazell made five treys in the opening 20 minutes to record 19 points, while Nyamari made four en route to 16 points. Foster added eight more points, including another triple, to join the pair in double figures with 11. UNW led by as many as 27 points with under a minute to go in the opening half, and took a 50-25 lead into the intermission.
Shots began to fall more frequently for the Yellowjackets in the second half, but the Eagles were able to keep pace despite an uptick in defensive intensity from the visitors.
Ben Tschida (Andover, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) joined the three-point parade with a pair of his own in just over a minute, and Nyamari continued to put on a show, following up following up his fifth three of the night with a fastbreak dunk after a heady outlet pass from Foster.
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) had a nice second half as well with nine points and five assists, helping an electric Northwestern offense make sure UW-Superior got no closer than 15 points for the entirety of the period. In his final five minutes of action, Nyamari scored five times in 10 possessions, with four of them coming from deep, before exiting to a standing ovation from the Ericksen Center crowd, who had grown louder with each swish.
Ethan Van Schepen (Rochester, Minn./Schaeffer Academy) scored UNW's final two points as they just missed the century mark, winning 99-77 to sweep the season series and get back to .500 in UMAC play at 4-4.
Nyamari is the eighth Eagle to reach the 40-point mark, and ties him for fifth in program history for a single game, joining Dan Westin (2001), Tim Aalsma (1997), Phil Christopherson (1976) and Wayne Thomas (1975). He will also be joining the UMAC (Division III era) record books, tying for eighth in single-game field goals, ninth in single-game points, and finishing one-three-pointer shy of tying the conference record of 11. Northwestern's 20 three-point makes as a team are also one shy of the UMAC record.
Frazell finished the game with 19 points (all in the first half) and five rebounds, while Foster stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, nine boards and six assists. Hoefs dished out seven assists in addition to his 11 points, and
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) pulled down seven rebounds.
The Eagles will travel to first-place Minnesota Morris on Saturday, February 7
th for a 2:45 matchup. UNW defeated the Cougars 88-79 when the two teams first met in the Ericksen Center on January 17
th.
