News Release

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — With an 85-to-74 victory over Crown College (Minn.) on Tuesday night, the Northwestern College (Minn.) men’s basketball team claimed a share of the 2005-2006 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship, splitting the honor with the College of St. Scholastica (Minn.). Northwestern, which improved to 20-5 overall on the year, finished their UMAC schedule owning an 11-3 conference mark to match the same 11-3 league showing by St. Scholastica. The Eagle program has dominated their conference competitors in recent years, collecting 3 straight UMAC regular season titles and 5 league championships in the past 6 seasons.

Northwestern College head coach Tim Grosz picked up the first 20-win season of his 6-year tenure leading the Eagle program. The last time Northwestern surpassed the 20-wins mark in a season came back in 1997-1998, as the Eagles posted a 25-11 record and recorded the most wins in a single season in school history.

Against Crown College (8-17, 2-12 UMAC), Northwestern trailed 18-to-17 midway through the first half. The Eagles put together a 9-0 run over the course of the next 5 minutes to go in front 26-to-18. Northwestern maintained their advantage in the final stages of the first half, leading by as many as 12 points before taking a 39-to-30 advantage with them into the locker room. The Eagles made 16-of-33 (48.5%) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play. Northwestern sophomore Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) recorded a double-double by halftime, racking up 13 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.

The Eagles showed no signs of letting up in the second half as they opened up a 19-point lead at 66-to-47 with 11 minutes remaining in the contest. Crown College was unable to reduce their deficit until the final minutes, when they closed to within 10 points, but it was too little, too late for the Storm as Northwestern held on for the 85-to-74 victory.

Struggling to find their shooting touch in recent games, the Eagles returned to form swishing 30-of-59 (50.8%) field goal attempts on the night and 7-of-15 (46.7%) from three-point range. Northwestern also netted 18-of-21 (85.7%) free throw attempts. The Eagles boasted a 41-to-24 advantage on the boards.

Four Northwestern players reached double-figures for scoring, including Daniel Hanson, who poured in a game-high 24 points and 16 rebounds. Josh Strelecki (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) added 17 points, Joseph Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood High School) notched 16 points, and Steve Discher (Andover, Minn.) chipped in 11 points. Mike Anderstrom (Mendota Heights, Minn./New Life Academy) grabbed 10 rebounds and also contributed 8 points along with 4 blocks in the triumph.

Northwestern is now 51-4 all-time against Crown, winning 30 of their last 31 head-to-head meetings with the Storm. The Eagles will take some time off and next be in action in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) post-season tournament. Owning the #2 seed in the post-season event, Northwestern will face Bethany Lutheran College on Friday, February 24th, at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota.

Northwestern College Men vs Crown College
2-14-06 7:30 pm at Crown
At Crown
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN 85, CROWN COLLEGE 74
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN (20-4, 11-3 UMAC)
Hanson, Daniel 9-15 6-6 24; Strelecki, Josh 6-11 2-2 17; Sir, Joseph 6-12
1-2 16; Discher, Steve 4-8 3-3 11; Anderstrom, Mike 3-6 2-2 8; Cramer,
Andrew 1-3 1-2 3; Zuleger, Dave 1-2 0-0 3; Baker, Caleb 0-2 2-2 2; Secord,
Levi 0-0 1-2 1; Olson, Andrew 0-0 0-0 0; Krehbiel, Josh 0-0 0-0 0; Lecheler,
James 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 18-21 85.
CROWN COLLEGE
Lucas Hall 5-11 0-0 13; Jeremy Grilley 3-13 5-7 12; Mitch Dice 5-12 0-0 10;
Seth Berge 4-8 1-1 10; Jesse Grilley 3-5 2-2 8; Andrew Miller 2-3 1-2 7; Jon
Zakariasen 3-7 0-0 6; Matt Bremer 2-4 0-0 6; Isaac Hale 1-2 0-0 2; Nick Wurm
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 9-12 74.
Northwestern College Men......   39   46  -   85
Crown College.................   30   44  -   74
3-point goals-Northwestern College Men 7-15 (Sir, Joseph 3-4; Strelecki,
Josh 3-5; Zuleger, Dave 1-1; Baker, Caleb 0-2; Discher, Steve 0-2; Hanson,
Daniel 0-1), Crown College 9-20 (Lucas Hall 3-5; Andrew Miller 2-3; Matt
Bremer 2-3; Jeremy Grilley 1-2; Seth Berge 1-2; Isaac Hale 0-1; Jon
Zakariasen 0-2; Jesse Grilley 0-1; Mitch Dice 0-1). Fouled out--Northwestern
College Men-None, Crown College-None. Rebounds-Northwestern College Men 41
(Hanson, Daniel 16), Crown College 24 (Jeremy Grilley 5; Seth Berge 5).
Assists-Northwestern College Men 10 (Zuleger, Dave 4), Crown College 10
(Lucas Hall 4). Total fouls-Northwestern College Men 9, Crown College 14.
Northwestern earns a share of their third straight UMAC regular season
conference championship and fifth in the last six years.  First 20-win season
for head coach Tim Grosz.