Northwestern College dropped its second consecutive game, losing to No.4 Briar Cliff 98-83, in a conference match-up between ranked teams played this afternoon in Sioux City, Iowa. The 10th-ranked Red Raiders fall to 7-4 in the GPAC, 17-4 overall.

The Red Raiders held just two leads, both early, and Briar Cliff used a 12-4 run to take the lead for good (15-9) just four minutes in after a three-pointer by Jay Wolfe. Only down three (20-17) at the 12-minute mark, Northwestern was outscored 25-9 over a seven-minute stretch by the hot-shooting Chargers, who opened up a 19-point lead (45-26) behind stellar three-point shooting. BCU hit eight three-pointers in the first 13 minutes of the game and led by 15 (53-38) by intermission.

Northwestern trailed by double digits for the entirety of the second half, falling behind by 20+ points at the 13-minute mark. A late 17-6 run by the Red Raiders, behind the play of Trent Hilbrands, brought NW within 15 during the final minutes. 

Nathan Wedel led the Red Raiders with 23 points, making 10-of-13 field goal attempts despite being in foul trouble for most of the game. Derek Buysse added 15 points, knocking down four three-pointers, and Hilbrands tallied a career-high 10 points and four rebounds. Northwestern shot 52% for the game, 32% (7/22) from the three-point arc, and 76% (16/21) from the free throw line. The Red Raiders held a slim 34-32 edge on the boards but committed 21 turnovers compared to seven by the Chargers. 

Briar Cliff (9-2, 20-3) shot 47% from the field, 42% from the arc (15/36), and was led by Wolfe with a game-high 26 points. Jackson Lamb added 17 points, including four three-pointers, and Erich Erdmann scored 18 and dished out seven assists. 

Notes:

Wedel moved up to 14th in career scoring (1,657pts), passing Alan Visser (1986-90); Wedel also moved up to 14th in career rebounding (712), passing Scott Van Egdom (1988-92); and 11th in assists (379), passing Kale Wiertzema (2005-09).