News Release

DULUTH, Minn. — Though the regular season has been quite friendly to the Northwestern College (Minn.) men’s basketball program in recent years, the post-season tournament has not provided such a positive experience for the Eagles. Northwestern was downed 73-to-65 by Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) on Friday night in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) post-season tournament semi-final action. The loss is the 4th defeat in their last 5 UMAC post-season tournament games and marks the 3rd time in the past 4 seasons that they have been knocked out in the semi-final round. Head coach Tim Grosz has guided the Eagle program to three straight regular season conference titles and 5 of the past 6 seasons Northwestern has ended the regular season schedule in first place.

The Vikings of Bethany Lutheran, who owned the #3 seed in the tournament, improved to .500 on the year with the victory, now standing at 13-13 overall. Northwestern, holding the #2 seed, slipped to 20-6 overall on the year with the loss. The post-season tournament affair marked the third clash of the season between the Vikings and Eagles, with Northwestern prevailing in the first two meetings.

Bethany Lutheran College came out with a mission, bolting to an 11-to-3 lead just 4 minutes into the game as Northwestern did not score a field goal until the 17:45 mark. The three-time defending conference champions quickly worked themselves back into the game though as Northwestern strung together a 10-to-0 run over the next 3 minutes, highlighted by back-to-back three-point swishes by sophomore Josh Strelecki (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) and sophomore Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) as the Eagles went in front 13-to-11.

After a brief scoring drought for both teams, the Vikings scored 9 unanswered points and owned a 20-to-13 advantage with 9 minutes to go in the first half. Bethany Lutheran continued to own the upper hand in the opening period, remaining on top 27-to-19 at the 5:20 point. Once again, the Eagles chipped away at their deficit and closed to within 2 points at 32-to-30 with 2 minutes left in the period. After both teams traded three-point field goals, Northwestern junior point guard Caleb Baker (Princeton, Ill.) tied the game at 35-to-35 with a drive and lay-up as time expired in the first half.

The Eagles shot 50.0% (15-of-30) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play, sinking 4-of-9 (44.4%) from three-point range. Bethany Lutheran made 14-of-35 (40.0%) from the field and out-rebounded the Eagles 21-to-14. The Viking standout guard duo of Alfonso Mayfield (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Dewan Grant (Milwaukee, Wis.) each accounted for 14 points in the half, owning a combined 28 of the 35 total points for Bethany Lutheran. Battling injuries through out the opening period, Daniel Hanson paced the Eagles with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Both teams combined to shoot just 4 free throws total in the half.

Producing a 14-to-4 run to start the second half, the scoreboard read 49-to-39 in favor of the Vikings at the 15:20 mark. Struggling offensively, Northwestern quietly narrowed their deficit to 5 points at 51-to-46 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game. Four minutes later, the Eagles still trailed by 5 on account of a 55-to-50 score. Following a netted three-point field goal from the corner and two successful free throws all credited to Daniel Hanson, Northwestern tied the game at 55-to-55 with just under 7 minutes left to go.

With 4:21 left in the post-season tournament semi-final, the Eagles took their first lead of the second half when senior Joseph Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood High School) hit 2 free throws to put Northwestern in front 58-to-57. Bethany Lutheran would not roll over though as the Vikings punched back with 8 unanswered points covering the next 2 minutes to take a commanding 65-to-58 lead. The Eagles had plenty of fight left in them as Joseph Sir scored back-to-back field goals in a span of 20 seconds and Northwestern trailed by just 3 points at 66-to-63 with 1:19 remaining in the battle.

Unfortunately, that would be the closest the Eagles would reach as Bethany Lutheran sealed the victory with solid free throw shooting down the stretch. Northwestern was held to just 1 field goal in the final 2 minutes, giving the Vikings a 73-to-65 win and allowing them to move on to the post-season tournament championship.

The Eagles went frigid cold shooting in the second half, netting just 8-of-33 (24.2%) field goal attempts and only 2-of-11 (18.2%) from behind the arc. For the game, Northwestern shot just 36.5% (23-of-63) from the field, setting a new season-low for shooting percentage in a single game. Bethany Lutheran’s 51-to-32 advantage on the boards also proved to be costly as the Vikings pulled down 10 offensive rebounds. The Vikings made 15-of-21 (71.4%) free throw attempts on the night.

Daniel Hanson and Mike Anderstrom were the only Northwestern players to reach double-figures for scoring, accounting for 21 and 15 points respectively. Hanson added 8 rebounds, while the two players combined to make 13-of-20 from the floor. Bethany Lutheran’s Dewan Grant boasted a game-high 22 points. Alfonso Mayfield chipped in 15 points and was credited with 9 rebounds.

Northwestern College will continue their 2005-2006 season next weekend in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) regional tournament. The Eagles will for sure host at least one game of the regional tournament. The dates and game times have not been set. Visit the Northwestern athletic website at www.nwc.edu/athletics to get the latest updates on the regional tournament schedule.