The Northwestern men’s basketball team claimed a 90-55 win over visiting Mount Marty on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The Raiders improved to 6-7 in GPAC play and 13-8 overall.
The Raider offense’s hot hand was immediate right from the onset. Back-to-back three-point shots from freshman guard Colton Kooima and junior guard Taylor Francis on the first NW possessions gave the home team an early lead. Mount Marty kept pace until a 21-4 run gave the Raiders a 35-17 lead with 4:38 left in the first half. NW went into halftime with a 39-25 advantage.
The Lancers responded early in the second half to bring the score within nine at 45-34. NW went on a scoring barrage that pushed the lead to 21 (55-34) thanks to a pair of Kooima threes. For the rest of the second half, Mount Marty never managed to get the lead to less than 30 points as NW cruised to a season-sweep victory over their conference foe.
A balanced scoring attack led the way for five Raiders to reach double figures in points. Kooima led all scorers with 17 points that included five three-point shots. Taylor Francis scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting. Sophomore guard Elijah Ihnen scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore forward Jordan Baker recorded 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Freshman guard Nathan Wedel scored 10 points and dished six assists.
“We found balance in our offense by moving the ball and getting it in the right hands,” Ihnen said. “We don’t have to rely on just one guy because we have so many offensive threats. Anyone can go off on a given night for us.”
The Raiders return to the Bultman Center on Saturday, Jan. 31. The game will begin at 4 p.m.
