News Release

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Northwestern College’s (Minn.) 88-to-82 triumph over Crown College (Minn.) on Tuesday night may best be described as a shootout. Both teams found their shooting touch early and stayed hot the entire night as the Eagles and Storm both finished the league affair shooting over 54% from the floor. With the win, Northwestern stands at 14-4 overall this season and 5-2 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action. Crown dropped to 5-11 on the year with the loss and slipped to 1-6 in conference contests.

With 4 ties and 6 lead changes, the first half witnessed a back-and-forth battle as the Eagles and Storm matched each other shot-for-shot for much of the 20-minute period. Tied at 36-to-36 with 2:32 remaining in the half, Northwestern finished the final stretch on a modest 4-0 run to take a 40-36 lead with them into the locker room at the halfway point.

Northwestern made 15-of-27 (55.6%) field goal attempts in the half, with Crown sinking 15-of-29 (51.7%) attempts from the floor. Though they cooled down slightly, the Storm were shooting over 70% from the field with just 8 minutes remaining in the half as they boasted a 20-to-8 advantage in points in the paint at the midway point. Northwestern sophomore sharpshooter Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy) totaled 16 points in the first half, connecting on 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-3 from long distance.

The Eagles started the second half posting a 14-to-8 run, going in front 54-to-44 with 14:18 remaining in the contest. Northwestern opened up the game further, leading by 15 points at 69-to-54 with just under 9 minutes left on the game clock. Crown slowly lowered their deficit and trailed by just 6 points at 83-to-77 with 52 seconds still to go. After a made Eagle free throw, the Storm responded with a successful three-point field goal to make the score 84-to-80 with 25 ticks left on the clock. Crown was able to get the ball back and close to within 2 points at 84-to-82 with 12 seconds left; however, that would prove to be the closest they would get as Northwestern senior Joseph Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood High School) swished 4 straight free throws in the final 12 seconds to secure the win.

Both teams continued their sizzling shooting in the second half with Northwestern netting 16-of-27 (59.3%) from the floor and Crown hitting 19-of-33 (57.6%) from the field. For the game, the Eagles shot a season-high 57.4% (31-of-54) and were trailed close behind by the Storm, who produced a 54.8% (34-of-62) team shooting percentage. Crown’s 88 points marked the most points scored against Northwestern this season as the Eagles hold their opponents to just 66.2 points per game on average.

A trio of Northwestern players clipped the 20-point mark, including sophomore Mike Anderstrom (Mendota Heights, Minn./New Life Academy), who established a new career high for points in a single game with a team-high 23 points. Anderstrom hit 10-of-16 field goal attempts and grabbed 5 rebounds. Daniel Hanson finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting, while Joseph Sir accounted for 22 points and 7 rebounds, making all 8 of his free throw attempts.

Crown College featured 4 players reaching double-figures for scoring, including senior Lucas Hall (Elk River, Minn.), who was credited with a game-high 26 points. Hall was successful on 11-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three-point range.

Northwestern is now 50-4 all-time against Crown and 23-1 all-time at home against the Storm. The Eagles have won 29 of their last 30 head-to-head meetings with Crown. Northwestern will continue UMAC play on Friday, traveling to the University of Minnesota-Morris for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Crown College Men vs Northwestern College Men
01/24/06 7:30 PM at St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center
At St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN 88, CROWN COLLEGE MEN 82
CROWN COLLEGE MEN (5-11, 1-6 UMAC)
Lucas Hall 11-18 0-0 26; Jeremy Grilley 6-14 2-2 15; Seth Berge 5-9 0-0 11;
Mitch Dice 3-7 5-6 11; Jon Zakariasen 2-4 0-0 5; Jesse Grilley 2-3 0-0 4;
Wes Clarke 2-3 0-0 4; Matt Bremer 2-2 0-0 4; Logan Howe 1-1 0-0 2; Isaac
Hale 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 7-8 82.
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN (14-4, 5-2 UMAC)
Anderstrom, Mike 10-16 3-5 23; Hanson, Daniel 9-13 1-5 22; Sir, Joseph 7-12
8-8 22; Strelecki, Josh 2-6 3-3 9; Baker, Caleb 1-1 2-2 5; Discher, Steve
1-2 3-4 5; Zuleger, Dave 1-2 0-0 2; Secord, Levi 0-0 0-0 0; Cramer, Andrew
0-0 0-0 0; Fogelberg, Nels 0-0 0-0 0; Krehbiel, Josh 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-54
20-27 88.
Crown College Men.............   36   46  -   82
Northwestern College Men......   40   48  -   88
3-point goals-Crown College Men 7-18 (Lucas Hall 4-8; Jeremy Grilley 1-4;
Seth Berge 1-3; Jon Zakariasen 1-2; Isaac Hale 0-1), Northwestern College
Men 6-13 (Hanson, Daniel 3-4; Strelecki, Josh 2-5; Baker, Caleb 1-1;
Krehbiel, Josh 0-1; Sir, Joseph 0-1; Anderstrom, Mike 0-1). Fouled
out--Crown College Men-None, Northwestern College Men-None. Rebounds-Crown
College Men 20 (Mitch Dice 5), Northwestern College Men 32 (Hanson, Daniel
8). Assists-Crown College Men 15 (Lucas Hall 3; Seth Berge 3; Jesse Grilley
3), Northwestern College Men 16 (Zuleger, Dave 5). Total fouls-Crown College
Men 21, Northwestern College Men 10.
Northwestern College is 50-4 all-time against Crown College and 23-1 all-time
at home versus the Storm.  Northwestern has won 29 of the last 30 head-to-head
meetings.