PHOTO BY EMILEE BERRY Junior Tyler Goldston goes up against three defenders in the lane. Goldston and the Raiders are on the playoff bubble as they travel to Concordia this Saturday.
On Wednesday, the men’s basketball team fell to Dakota Wesleyan 102-85 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D. The loss puts NW at a 14-13 record for the season with three conference games left to play. Northwestern is currently eighth in the GPAC.The teams battled at an even pace in the first half, and Dakota Wesleyan took a 47-46 advantage into the break. Northwestern was up 44-36 at one point when the Tigers mounted a run to take a lead at the halfway point.In the second half, the Tigers never looked back after tying up NW 56-56. The tigers scored 55 points compared to the Raider’s 39 points in the second half.“The Corn Palace is a tough place to play,” Leeper said. “They played really well defensively, and we gave up too many easy baskets down low and too many easy looks at the three-point.”The Raiders were led in scoring by sophomore point guard Joey Habtemariam with 18 points on 8-17 shooting. Freshman post Jordan Baker scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting. Senior guard Zack Leeper recorded 13 points. Senior guard Rob Gill added 10 points.As a team, NW shot a respectable 44 percent from the floor. However, the team’s problems came on the defensive end, where the Raiders allowed Dakota Wesleyan to shoot 52 percent from the floor and also from three-point range.“We definitely have to play better defense and to come out with more intensity on that side of the ball to be successful,” Leeper said.Last Saturday, the Raiders hosted Doane and fell 81-71 to their conference opponent. Northwestern shot a season-low 31 percent. “In college basketball, you can’t dwell on the past,” Leeper said. “All you can do is take it one day at a time and push through the tough times.”Leeper scored a game-high 26 points and went a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Tyler Goldston was the only other Raider in double figures with 13 points.The Raiders will return to action on Saturday with a trip to Concordia to face the Bulldogs. The game will begin at 4 p.m.