NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE EAGLES MEN'S BASKETBALL
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
17 January 2009

Northwestern doubles up Crown, 89-42

	Final
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE	89
CROWN COLLEGE	42

17 JANUARY 2009
STORY BY GREG JOHNSON

ST. PAUL – Everyone in a Northwestern College jersey saw significant court time on Saturday night, as the Eagles pounded Crown College in a Hoops Hysteria extravaganza. The 89-42 win gave NWC its sixth consecutive victory. The Eagles have yet to lose in 2009.

Crown was finally able to score a basket after Brian Lecheler’s (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) three-point play made it 9-0 in Northwestern’s favor early on. The Storm cut the lead to 19-15 in the next six minutes, but Northwestern followed with a storm of its own, jumping out to a 36-17 lead on Steve Discher’s (Andover, Minn./Andover) successful shot from downtown. As the first half’s last seconds ticked off, NWC went into the locker room with a 44-25 lead.

After extending their lead to 29 early in the second half, the Eagles pushed the advantage to 49 points, as the score read 89-42 at the final buzzer.

Northwestern had its best shooting performance of the 2008-09 season, making 38 of its 59 attempts for 64.4 percent. Crown countered with 31.4 percent, struggling from behind the three-point line at 27.3 percent. The Eagles entered this week third in all of NCAA Division III for three-point field goal defense.

Three players scored in double figures for NWC, including Stephen Hanson (Plymouth, Minn./Maranatha Christian Academy), who led all scorers with 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting. Discher finished with 11 points in 14 minutes, while Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Eric Garst (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) and Lecheler combined for nine assists on the night. As a team, Northwestern dished out 23 assists compared to committing 14 turnovers.

Jacob Jarvis led Crown (0-13 overall, 0-5 UMAC) with 12 points, while Daniel Pust added 11.