Northwestern pulls away for 96-87 win over Concordia

By on Jan. 3, 2011 in Men's Basketball

Northwestern pulls away for 96-87 win over Concordia

Northwestern College pulled away down the stretch to secure a 96-87 men’s basketball win over Concordia on Monday evening.  The Red Raiders improved to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in GPAC play with the win.  The victory also moved Northwestern into sole possession of second place in the conference standings.  Concordia slipped to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in GPAC play with the loss. 

The teams traded leads multiple times in the opening eight minutes of the game.  With the Bulldogs leading 19-18 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Northwestern used a 14-0 run to grab a 32-19 lead with just over eight minutes left in half number one. 

The Bulldogs rallied and actually claimed a one point lead at 41-40 with 30 seconds remaining in the half.  A 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half gave Northwestern a slim 43-41 halftime lead. 

Northwestern held the lead for all but 14 seconds in the second half, but Concordia kept it close.  The Raiders led by no more than seven until late in the game.  The Bulldogs pulled within three at 77-74 with just over six minutes left in regulation.  Ben Miller hit a pair of free throws to give the Raiders a 79-74 lead.  Following a made free throw by Concordia’s T.J. Todd (Seaside, Calif.), Mike Vorwald and Ryan Stock connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give Northwestern an 85-75 advantage.  The Raiders built the lead to 14 and settled for the 96-87 win. 

Northwestern held an 18-9 advantage in second chance points.  The Raiders also held a 39-35 rebounding advantage in the contest.  For the game, Northwestern was 35-of-70 (50 percent) from the field.  The Raiders were 18-of-34 (52.9 percent) from the floor in the second half.  Northwestern was 7-of-20 (35 percent) from deep and 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) from the foul line. 

Daniel Van Kalsbeek finished with a game-high 21 points with seven rebounds for the Red Raiders.  Ben Miller added 19 points and five assists.  Stuart Goslinga went 7-of-8 from the field to finish with 15 points, and Ryan Stock added 13. 

Concordia was 25-of-54 (46.3 percent) from the field in the loss.  The Bulldogs were 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) from the floor in the second half.  Concordia was 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from long range and 29-of-33 (87.9 percent) from the charity stripe. 

Sam Huebner (Aurora, Colo.) finished with team-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds.  Ryan Shrum (Allen, Texas) added 17 points.  Barrett Braun (Lakeside, Calif.) had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Tyler Byrd (Bennington, Neb.) added 10 for the Bulldogs.  Byrd, Concordia’s leading scorer on the season, finished with just three shots in the game.  Braun struggled from the field, going 5-of-15 overall and 0-of-8 from deep. 

Concordia hosts Dordt College on January 8.  Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Health, Human Performance and Athletic Center.