News Release

ASHLAND, Wis. — The Northwestern College men’s basketball team split a pair of road games this past weekend, dropping a 77-67 affair against the College of St. Scholastica on Friday night, followed by a 75-72 edging over Northland College on Saturday evening. Northwestern is now 13-4 overall on the year and 4-2 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action. The Eagles stand just 1 game back of league-leader St. Scholastica in the UMAC regular season standings.

Against the Saints of St. Scholastica, Northwestern trailed by just 3 points at halftime in a 35-32 score, but the Saints began the second half on an 11-to-2 run to take a commanding 46-34 lead. From there, the closest the Eagles were able to get was 6 points at 46-40 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the contest. St. Scholastica’s post play combined with the scorching shooting of Andrew Schmitz (Hinckley, Minn./Central Lakes CC) proved to be too much for Northwestern to overcome. The Saints pulled down 36 rebounds compared to just 25 for Northwestern, while Schmitz finished the affair owning a game-high 33 points.

The Eagles made 26-of-54 (48.1%) from the floor and 6-of-18 (33.3%) from three-point range in the loss. Senior Joseph Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood HS) recorded a team-high 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead Northwestern. Dave Zuleger (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West HS) added 12 points and 3 assists, while Mike Anderstrom (Mendota Heights, Minn./New Life Academy) posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Facing the Lumberjacks of Northland College, it appeared as though Northwestern would suffer their second defeat in as many days as they trailed by as much at 16 points early in the game. However, the Eagles dug down deep in the second half and responded with a gritty, come-from-behind victory. Down 41-34 at the midway point, Northwestern slowly chipped away at their deficit and finally took the lead at 61-60 with 5:44 remaining in the league match-up. The Eagles increased their advantage to 6 points late in the game, before settling for the 75-72 triumph.

Northwestern was successful on 28-of-61 (45.9%) field goal attempts, but just 4-of-17 (23.5%) from behind the arc. The Eagles sank 15-of-21 (71.4%) shots from the free throw line. Boasting a 41-to-26 advantage in rebounds, Northwestern tallied 24 second-chance points, compared to just 9 for the Lumberjacks. Sophomore forward Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) paced the Eagles with 17 points and 10 rebounds, making 8-of-14 from the floor. The outing represented Hanson’s third double-double of the season and second in the past three games. Mike Anderstrom and Joseph Sir each added 13 points, with Anderstrom also providing 9 rebounds.

The Eagles will return home to the Ericksen Center for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with Crown College (Minn.) on Tuesday, January 24th. Northwestern is 22-1 all-time at home against Crown College.

Northwestern College vs Northland College
1/26/06 5:00 at Northland College
At Northland College
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE 75, NORTHLAND COLLEGE 72
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE
Hanson, Daniel 8-14 1-2 17; Anderstrom, Mike 5-9 2-2 13; Sir, Joseph 5-9 2-2
13; Strelecki, Josh 2-6 4-5 9; Zuleger, Dave 3-9 2-2 9; Cramer, Andrew 3-5
1-3 7; Discher, Steve 1-3 2-2 4; Secord, Levi 1-1 0-0 2; Krehbiel, Josh 0-3
1-2 1; Fogelberg, Nels 0-1 0-1 0; Lecheler, James 0-1 0-0 0; Baker, Caleb
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 15-21 75.
NORTHLAND COLLEGE
Arneson, Aaron 9-12 7-8 30; Oetken, Mitch 6-9 4-6 16; Christenson, Mike 5-18
1-3 12; Arneson, Jordan 3-7 1-1 8; DeCora, Curtis 1-1 2-2 4; Sobotka, Andy
0-3 1-2 1; McNeil, Adam 0-1 1-2 1; Christinson, Ryan 0-2 0-0 0; Hoekstra,
John 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 17-24 72.
Northwestern College..........   34   41  -   75
Northland College.............   41   31  -   72
3-point goals-Northwestern College 4-17 (Anderstrom, Mike 1-1; Zuleger, Dave
1-4; Strelecki, Josh 1-4; Sir, Joseph 1-2; Krehbiel, Josh 0-1; Fogelberg,
Nels 0-1; Lecheler, James 0-1; Discher, Steve 0-1; Cramer, Andrew 0-1;
Hanson, Daniel 0-1), Northland College 7-20 (Arneson, Aaron 5-6;
Christenson, Mike 1-8; Arneson, Jordan 1-4; Hoekstra, John 0-1; Oetken,
Mitch 0-1). Fouled out--Northwestern College-Anderstrom, Mike, Northland
College-Christinson, Ryan. Rebounds-Northwestern College 41 (Hanson, Daniel
10), Northland College 26 (Oetken, Mitch 10). Assists-Northwestern College
14 (Anderstrom, Mike 3; Sir, Joseph 3; Zuleger, Dave 3), Northland College
16 (Oetken, Mitch 4). Total fouls-Northwestern College 20, Northland College
22. A-341