11th-ranked Northwestern College scored nine of the games' final 12 points to come back and defeat Dordt 96-92 in front of a packed house at the DeWitt Gym in Sioux Center, Iowa. The win improves the Red Raiders to 9-4 in conference play, 19-4 overall.Â
Following a 12-2 Defenders' run that put the hosts up 89-87 with 1:30 left,
Riley Francis scored and drew a foul off a feed from
Parker Mulder and converted the and-one to put Northwestern up for good, 90-89. Back-to-back turnovers by Dordt resulted in two free throws by
Derek Buysse and a jumper by
Colton Kooima, giving the Red Raiders just enough of a lead (94-89) with 22 seconds left.
A free throw by Ben Gesink and a lay-up by Andrew O'Donnell following a steal put Dordt within two (94-92) moments later as the hosts used their final timeout. Facing full court pressure, Northwestern found
Nathan Wedel breaking down the court on the inbounds pass where he was fouled and sealed the win with two free throws.Â
Kooima led a balanced scoring effort by the Red Raiders with a game-high 23 points, making 10-of-18 field goal attempts. Wedel scored 20 points to go with five assists and Francis registered his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Both Mulder (14) and Buysse (12) round out the top scorers for NWC.Â
Both teams shot well from the field (Dordt-53%; NW-50%) and from beyond the arc (Dordt-46%; NW-44%). Northwestern held the edge on the boards, 37-28, picking up 14 on the offensive glass.Â
Dordt used an 11-2 run to build up its largest lead early (21-13) following a jumper by O'Donnell with 13:29 left in the first half. Northwestern responded by scoring the next nine points, taking the lead back after a pull-up jumper by Kooima (22-21). The teams traded baskets over the next five-plus minutes, until, with Dordt up one (37-36), a pair of free throws by
Steven Kragt began a 7-0 Northwestern run, leading to a slight 48-46 lead at the break.Â
Consecutive three-pointers by Dordt put the hosts back in front 52-51 in the opening minutes of the second half. Northwestern came back with a 13-3 run, using three-pointers from Wedel, Francis and Buysse to open up a 64-55 lead at the 14-minute mark. The Red Raiders extended their lead to as many as 11 after a lay-up by Mulder but were unable to put the Defenders away. Dordt eventually erased the NW lead with its 12-2 run, taking the lead (89-87) on a basket by Zach Bussard with 90 seconds remaining.
Chandler Brunsting led the Defenders with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Bussard contributed 17 points coming off the bench, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Dordt slips to 5-9 in the GPAC, 11-15 overall.
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