News Release

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Northwestern College (Minn.) senior Joseph Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood High School) was not about to let the opportunity slip away. Accounting for a game-high 24 points, Sir put the Eagles in position to secure their third straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship with an 85-78 triumph over Northland College (Wis.) Friday night. With a win tomorrow over the College of St. Scholastica, the Eagle program would hold their lock on the bragging rights in the UMAC and secure their fifth regular season conference crown in the past six seasons. The Eagles are 10-1 at home in the Ericksen Center this season.

Northwestern extended their season-high winning streak to 7 games, which marks the longest span of consecutive victories for the Eagle program since they posted an 8-game winning streak in 2003-2004. The Eagles now stand at 19-4 overall and 10-2 in UMAC match-ups, while Northland College slipped to 4-19 overall and 3-9 in league play with the loss.

Leading 13-to-11 at the 13:38 mark in the first half, Northwestern built a modest 8-to-3 run to go in front 21-to-14 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the period. The LumberJacks continued to stay within reach though, trailing by just 3 points at 23-to-20 with 9:07 on the clock. Over the course of the next 4 minutes, the Eagles held Northland scoreless and put in 7 points of their own as Northwestern grabbed a 30-to-20 advantage with 7:05 still to go in the half. Finishing the half in control, the Eagles strung together a 13-to-7 run and took a 43-to-27 lead with them into the locker room at the break.

After a poor shooting performance in the second half of their last game versus Martin Luther College, Northwestern returned to their usual shooting touch in the first half against Northland, connecting on 17-of-34 (50.0%) from the floor. The Eagles boasted a 25-to-10 advantage on the boards in the first twenty minutes of play, pulling down 10 offensive rebounds, which attributed to a 22-to-8 margin in points in the paint in favor of Northwestern.

In the early stages of the second half, it appeared as though the Eagles would easily cut down the LumberJacks as Northwestern increased their advantage to 23 points at 53-to-30 just 3 minutes into the half. However, Northland College was not about to be steamrolled as they came swinging back with a 22-to-8 run and trailed by just 9 points at 61-to-52 with 8:48 to go in the league affair.

The LumberJacks were not done yet as they continued to turn the momentum, whittling away their deficit to just 4 points at 68-to-64 with just over 4 minutes remaining in the contest. The reigning UMAC champions were not about to lose on their home floor though as Northwestern punched back with a quick 6-0 run and went in front 74-to-64 with 3:25 left on the game clock. From there, the closest Northland would reach would be 4 points as solid free throw shooting, mainly by freshman standout Steve Discher (Andover, Minn.), sealed the win for the Eagles.

Northwestern finished the game shooting 47.5% (28-of-59) from the field and netted 24-of-29 (82.8%) free throw attempts. A 41-to-25 advantage on the boards provided the Eagles with a favorable 34-to-22 margin in points in the paint and 19-to-9 margin in second chance points. Northland College connected on 18-of-32 (56.3%) shots from the floor in the second half and 8-of-16 (50.0%) from long range.

Joseph Sir accounted for 24 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Eagles, making 7-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Steve Discher swished home 11-of-11 free throw attempts, and finished with 15 points, while Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) chipped in 10 points along with 7 rebounds, hitting 5-of-9 field goal attempts. For the LumberJacks, Mike Christenson (Valparaiso, Ind./Boone Grove High School) poured in a team-high 17 points, also accounting for 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Mitch Oetken (Cloverdale, Ind.) was credited with 15 points and 8 rebounds for Northland.

Northwestern has recorded 5 straight wins over Northland in head-to-head battles and the Eagles have now prevailed in 13 of their last 14 clashes with the LumberJacks. Northwestern will aim to secure their third straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season conference title tomorrow, hosting the College of St. Scholastica at 5 p.m. Northland College will aim to get back in the win column on Saturday, traveling to Crown College to meet up with the Storm for a 5 p.m. tip-off.

Northland College Men vs Northwestern College Men
02/10/06 7:30 PM at St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center
At St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN 85, NORTHLAND COLLEGE MEN 78
NORTHLAND COLLEGE MEN (4-19, 3-9 UMAC)
Christenson, Mike 6-13 2-2 17; Oetken, Mitch 5-8 4-7 15; Arneson, Aaron 5-13
0-0 12; DeCora, Curtis 3-5 2-2 9; McNeil, Adam 2-3 4-4 8; Christianson, Ryan
2-4 1-2 7; Arneson, Jordan 1-3 3-4 6; Sobotk, Andy 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 26-55
16-21 78.
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN (19-4, 10-2 UMAC)
Sir, Joseph 7-13 8-8 24; Discher, Steve 2-6 11-11 15; Hanson, Daniel 5-9 0-0
10; Anderstrom, Mike 3-5 2-4 8; Strelecki, Josh 3-8 0-0 8; Zuleger, Dave 3-5
1-2 8; Olson, Andrew 2-3 1-2 5; Krehbiel, Josh 2-4 0-0 4; Cramer, Andrew 1-4
1-2 3; Baker, Caleb 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 24-29 85.
Northland College Men.........   27   51  -   78
Northwestern College Men......   43   42  -   85
3-point goals-Northland College Men 10-24 (Christenson, Mike 3-6;
Christianson, Ryan 2-4; Arneson, Aaron 2-7; Oetken, Mitch 1-1; DeCora,
Curtis 1-3; Arneson, Jordan 1-2; Sobotk, Andy 0-1), Northwestern College Men
5-18 (Sir, Joseph 2-6; Strelecki, Josh 2-4; Zuleger, Dave 1-2; Anderstrom,
Mike 0-1; Krehbiel, Josh 0-1; Cramer, Andrew 0-1; Baker, Caleb 0-1; Hanson,
Daniel 0-2). Fouled out--Northland College Men-None, Northwestern College
Men-None. Rebounds-Northland College Men 25 (Oetken, Mitch 8), Northwestern
College Men 41 (Sir, Joseph 9). Assists-Northland College Men 13
(Christenson, Mike 4), Northwestern College Men 14 (Zuleger, Dave 4). Total
fouls-Northland College Men 22, Northwestern College Men 19. A-492
Northwestern College is 27-16 all-time against Northland College and 17-4 all-
time at home.  Northwestern defeated Northland College by a score of 85-78.