Northwestern defeated Dordt in a back-and-forth game Wednesday, Dec. 1, 79-65, to pick up a big conference win from their rivals.
Sophomore Ben Miller shined brightest for the Raiders by scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 boards. Sophomore Dan Van Kalsbeek dropped 23 points and had eight rebounds. Junior Walker Seim hit three three-pointers in his 13 points. Senior Ryan Hoogeveen had two dunks in his ten points. Overall, the Raiders shot 42 percent.
Dordt came out ready to play and went up 11-0 immediately. The Raiders came within four by halftime, 33-29. Coming out of the locker room, the Raiders went on a 13-5 run, but Dordt responded with 11 straight points of their own. NW then scored 12 straight points to take the lead for good.
The Raiders couldn’t pull off a win in the first game of the Dickinson State Classic last Friday, Nov. 26, in Dickinson, N.D. They lost at the hands of Rocky Mountain College, 83-80. NW sank a season-best 11 three-pointers led by Seim, who had 19 points, 15 from behind the arc. Miller put in 17, and Hoogeveen added 12. Van Kalsbeek led the Raiders with seven boards, and sophomore Stu Goslinga added six.
The game on Saturday turned out better for NW as they rode Van Kalsbeek’s 26 points to an 80-76 win over Montana Western. Seim and Hoogeveen chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively. Goslinga led the Raiders in rebounds by pulling down 10.
NW will play in Hastings tomorrow at 4 p.m. in another GPAC game.