News Release

NEW ULM, Minn. — The Northwestern College men’s basketball team began their pursuit of a third-straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season title with a 76-53 road win at Martin Luther College on Friday night. With the victory, the Eagles improved to 10-2 overall on the year, while the host Knights fell to 1-8 on the year. It was the first league contest for both squads.

Northwestern College looked very impressive early as the Eagles shot a scorching 66.7% (16-of-24) from the field in the first half to take a 40-25 advantage into the locker room at the halftime break.

In the second half, Northwestern maintained their lead, outscoring the Knights 36-28 in the second frame to earn the 76-53 triumph. The Eagles connected on 28-of-50 (56.0%) field goal attempts for the game and 8-of-18 (44.4%) from three-point range. Their 56.0% field goal shooting set a new season high for a single game.

Martin Luther College made just 22-of-56 (39.3%) field goal attempts in their home arena. Free throw shooting proved to be a key difference as Northwestern reached the charity stripe 21 times, making 12 of those 21 attempts. The Knights reached the free throw line on just 4 occasions, sinking 3 of those 4 attempts.

Northwestern College senior all-conference guard Joseph Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood HS) boasted a game-high 16 points as he was successful on 6-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-7 from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) returned to the starting line-up after an ankle injury and provided 13 points along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Sophomore guard Dave Zuleger (Wausau Wis./Wausau West HS) produced one of his best all-around performances of the season, adding 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting along with 4 assists and 3 steals.

For Martin Luther College, Nathan Nass, Caleb Kurbis, and Jake Schwartz all reached double-figures for scoring with Nass posting a team-high 15 points and 5 rebounds. Kurbis followed with 13 points, while Schwartz owned 10 points in the loss.

Northwestern College has now won their last 5 head-to-head battles with Martin Luther College and 12 of their last 13 match-ups versus the Knights dating back to the 1999-2000 season. The Eagles are 18-4 all-time against Martin Luther.

Northwestern will continue Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action on Saturday, January 7, clashing with Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota, at 5 p.m.