The Northwestern men overcame a halftime deficit and sent Morningside home empty-handed by a score of 87-80 on Wednesday night. The win clinched the GPAC regular season championship for the Raiders.
Fueled by shooting 70 percent from the field in the first half, the Mustangs took it to the Raiders and didn’t surrender after the first five minutes of the half. Poor shooting and letting in easy baskets put NW down 51-41 at the half.
Slowly building up their charge, NW regained the lead at the midway point of the final half, 61-60. The remainder of the game was filled with the Raiders cooling the hot shot Mustangs to 28 percent shooting on the half and sustaining their lead. NW only shot 45 percent on the game, but held a 42-31 advantage on boards in the game.
Sophomore Daniel Van Kalsbeek dominated down low by scoring 27 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Sophomore Ben Miller put in 14 and senior Ryan Hoogeveen added 12. Sophomore Stu Goslinga contributed 10 points plus leading the Raiders in rebounds with nine.
The Raiders next game is on the 16th when they travel to Mitchell, S.D. to take on Dakota Wesleyan.
