Game Time...Ranked teams collide in Sioux City this weekend when 10th-ranked Northwestern College matches up against No.4 Briar Cliff on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off at the Newman Flanagan Center is scheduled for 4pm. Northwestern is alone in third place in the GPAC with a 7-3 record, 17-3 overall, and the Chargers are tied with Morningside for first place in the conference with an 8-2 record, 19-3 overall. 

Follow the game live via the Briar Ciff webcast at this link: Watch Now!

All-Time...Northwestern leads the all-time series 58-52 and the teams have split the last four match-ups.

Earlier This Year...Then No.1 Northwestern lost to Briar Cliff 92-81 in a match-up played at the Bultman Center on Dec. 2. It was the second straight loss for the Red Raiders. 

Five BCU players scored in double figures, led by Jay Wolfe with 22 points and Erich Erdman with 21. The Chargers used a 22-9 run midway in the first half to take the lead for good and shot 57% from beyond the arc (16/28). 

Nathan Wedel led the Red Raiders with 27 points, making 11-of-14 field goal attempts, and Colton Kooima netted 20. 

Game Recap | 

Scouting Reports..

    No.4 Briar Cliff Chargers: 8-2 (T1st), 19-3 overall    Head Coach: Mark Svagera (1st year)

Briar Cliff had its eight-game win streak snapped Wednesday night, losing on the road to Hastings 96-72, to fall into a first place tie with Morningside at 8-2 in the GPAC. They are 19-3 and defeated Moringside, Presentation, Dakota Wesleyan, Culver-Stockton, York, Mount Marty, Concordia and Dordt during its win streak. The Chargers other losses are to Dakota State and Midland.

Svagera is in his first season as the head of the Briar Cliff program after serving as an assistant under Nic Nelson for six years. Svagera returns two starters and eight players from a 2017-18 team that won the GPAC regular season title with a 14-4 record. They lost in the first round of the NAIA D-II Championship to Bellevue and finished with a 26-8 mark.

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank / NAIA rank if top 10)
    Scoring Offense: 90.7ppg (2nd / 9th)
    Scoring Defense: 79.5ppg (7th)
    Field Goal Percentage: 49.3% (4th)
    3pt Percentage: 39% (2nd), 270 3pters (1st /1st)
    Free Throw Percentage: 78% (2nd / 6th)
    Rebound Margin: 0 (9th)

Top Players:  
    Erich Erdman (2x All-Conference): 19.7ppg (3rd), 45 3pters (7th), 4.3rpg, 100 assists (2nd)
    Jay Wolfe (All-Conference) 18.5ppg (7th), 62 3pters (5th), 7.2rpg (4th)
    Jackson Lamb-15.6ppg, 67 3pters (3rd/3rd), 4.3rpg
    Blake Wilttgen- 9.1ppg, 61% FG, 4.3rpg, 13 blocks
    
No.10 Northwestern College: 7-3 (3rd), 17-3    Head Coach: Kris Korver (18th year)

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank / NAIA-if top 10)
    Scoring Offense: 95.4ppg (1st / 3rd)
    Scoring Defense: 81ppg (10th)
    Field Goal Percentage: 52% (1st / 4th)
    3pt Percentage: 42% (1st / 4th); 212 3pters (2nd / 8th) 
    Free Throw Percentage: 84% (1st / 1st) 
    Rebound Margin: +6 (2nd)

Top Players:
    Colton Kooima-All-American, 3x All-GPAC; 23.1ppg (1st / 9th), 60 3pters (4th), 73 assists (6th)
    Nathan Wedel-3x All-Conference; 20.7ppg (2nd), 6.3rpg (9th), 61% FG (3rd), 81 assists (4th)     
    Derek Buysse-All-Conference; 16ppg, 62 3pters (1st / 2nd), 4.9rpg
    Riley Francis-All-Conference; 13.1ppg, 6.4rpg (8th)