Northwestern came up short in its upset bid against No. 17 Dakota Wesleyan 88-75 in the GPAC opener for both teams played tonight at the Corn Palace. The Red Raiders lost for the first time, falling to 3-1 on the season. Dakota Wesleyan stays unbeaten, improving to 4-0.

Trent Hilbrands scored 20 points to lead the Red Raiders in scoring for the third straight game, making four three-pointers and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Craig Sterk continued his strong play coming off the bench with 14 points and seven rebounds. Parker Mulder came through with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. 

Hilbrands and Mulder combined to hit a trio of three-pointers as the Red Raiders began the game with a 13-6 run. Dakota Wesleyan came back with a 15-0 surge, holding Northwestern scoreless for three-plus minutes, to take the lead for good, 21-13. The Red Raiders kept within contact, trailing by three late in the first half after successive three-pointers by Hilbrands and Kragt. DWU closed the first half strong however, and pushed the lead to seven (46-39) by intermission.

Isaac Heyer scored a lay-up and cut the DWU lead down to five at the start of the second half. The Tigers quickly built their lead back up to double digits with a 10-3 run and Northwestern would get no closer than nine over the final 20 minutes. 

Northwestern shot 42% for the game, 39% (13/33) from the arc. They held a slight edge, 37-35, on the boards, led by Hilbrands (8) and Sterk (7). Mulder dished out three assists.

Dakota Wesleyan shot 45% for the game and drained a season-high 20 three-pointers, shooting 44% from the three-point line. Both Ty Hoglund and Nick Harden made six three-pointers each en route to 30 and 27 points, respectively. Samuel McCloud scored all 12 of his points from the three-point line, making 4-of-8 three-pointers, and dished out six assists. 

Northwestern will play Dakota State on Saturday night, Nov. 10, in Madison, S.D. at 7pm.