Nathan Wedel poured in a game-high 27 points in leading 11th-ranked Northwestern to an 87-73 road win over Mount Marty in a GPAC match-up played tonight in Yankton, S.D. The Red Raiders earned their sixth consecutive win and improve to 5-2 in the conference, 15-2 overall.
Wedel was nearly flawless from the field, making 11 of his 15 shots from the field and all five of his free throw attempts in recording his seventh 20+ point game of the season. Both
Riley Francis and
Derek Buysse contributed 18 points each and
Parker Mulder netted 10 points to go with a career-high eight rebounds.
Northwestern fell behind early after the host Lancers scored seven of the first eight points of the game. Buysse sparked a Red Raider comeback, scoring seven points during an 11-2 surge that put his team in front 12-9. Following a three-pointer by the Lancers that tied the game at 12, Northwestern went ahead for good with a 12-4 run, finished off with a basket by
Steven Kragt at the 10:43 mark.
The Red Raiders stretched their lead to as many 14 (48-34) in the first half and led 51-39 at intermission. Northwestern shot 61% over the first 20 minutes compared to 48% by the Lancers.
Northwestern again pushed its lead to 14 in the early portions of the second half and led by double digits for nearly all of the final 20 minutes. A three-pointer by Lancers' guard Conlan Callahan cut the Raider lead down to nine (73-64) at the seven minute mark. The Red Raiders put the game away, however, on a three-pointer by Francis that finished off a 9-2 run to put NW back up by 16.
Coach
Kris Korver's squad shot 52% for the game, cooling off to 42% over the final 20 minutes. They went 8-for-25 (32%) from beyond the arc and 13/16 from the free throw line. Northwestern held a big edge on the glass, 43-33, led by Mulder with eight and Francis, Wedel and
Chris Borchers all with seven. Mulder dished out a game-high five assists.
Callahan led the Lancers with 23 points, followed closely by Marcus Mathieu with 19. The loss drops MMC to 0-8 in the GPAC, 3-14 overall.