Game Time...No.10 Northwestern College begins its final week of the regular season with a road match-up against No.17 Dakota Wesleyan Wednesday night in Mitchell, S.D. Tip-off at the Bultman Center is scheduled for 8pm. The Red Raiders are currently third in the GPAC standings with a 12-4 record, one game in back of both Morningside and Briar Cliff, 22-4 overall. DWU is in fourth place in the GPAC standings with a 9-7 league record, 19-9 overall. 

Follow the game live, via the DWU webcast, at this link: Watch Now!

All-Time...Northwestern leads the all-time series 46-26 against DWU, 3-2 over the last five and 5-5 over the last 10 games. The Red Raiders have dropped four straight in games played in Mitchell, S.D., last defeating DWU on the road in 2012-13. 

Last Time vs DWU... Colton Kooima scored a game-high 38 points in leading the Red Raiders to a 95-86 home win over No.19 Dakota Wesleyan in a match-up played on Jan. 10.

Kooima went 13-for-25 from the field and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line to record his seventh 30+-point game of the season. Both Nathan Wedel (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Riley Francis (15 points, 10 boards) posted double-doubles and Derek Buysse chipped in 16 points, including a game-clinching three-pointer with two minutes left in the contest. 

Dakota Wesleyan used the hot-shooting of Collin Kramer, who drained a trio of three-pointers in the opening minutes, to jump out to a 17-10 lead. Baskets by Steven Kragt and a three-point play by Buysse began a 19-4 Northwestern surge that put the hosts in front 29-21 at the nine-minute mark. The Red Raiders held the lead for the rest of the half, an advantage that ranged from 3-7 points and ended 45-40 at the break.

Another three-pointer by Kramer made it a one-point game in the opening moments of the second half. The teams traded runs over the next five minutes, until, with Northwestern up by two (55-53), Kooima carried the offensive load with 17 straight points for the Red Raiders as the hosts gradually pulled away to an 81-70 advantage. Still a 10-point game with three minutes left, Buysse knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to seal DWU's fate. 

Northwestern shot 52% from the field, 40% (8/20) from the three-point arc, and went 17/21 from the free throw line. The Red Raiders used a commanding 39-28 edge on the boards, pulling down nine offensive boards, and committed eight turnovers compared to 14 by DWU. 

Jason Spicer missed just two shots from the field (11/13) en route to a 31 point, seven assist effort to lead DWU. Nygel Drury scored 20 and Kramer netted 19, draining five three-pointers. 

Scouting Reports...

    No.17 Dakota Wesleyan Tigers: 9-7 (4th in GPAC), 19-9 overall   Head Coach: Matt Wilber (5th season)

DWU lost to Morningside on a buzzer beater last time out, 84-83, in a game played in Sioux City on Jan. 7. The loss dropped the Tigers to 9-7 in conference play, just one game ahead of Hastings with two games left in the regular season. DWU is 4-4 over its last eight games, earning wins over Midland, Doane, Mount Marty and Briar Cliff and losing to the Mustangs, Hastings, Dordt and Northwestern. The Tigers are 10-3 at home this season.

Now in his fifth season as the Tigers head coach, Wilber earned his 100th win at DWU earlier this year and already ranks fifth all-time in career wins. He has guided the Tigers to three consecutive NAIA D-II National Tournaments, including a runner-up finish in 2014-15. Wilber returns four starters and 11 players from a 2016-17 team that finished tied for second in the GPAC at 13-5, 23-10 overall, losing to College of Idaho in the first round at Branson.

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank / NAIA-if top 10)
    Scoring Offense: 85.4ppg (4th)
    Scoring Defense: 73.3ppg (1st)
    Field Goal Percentage: 51% (3rd/6th)
    3pt Percentage: 37%, (4th) 270 3pters (6th)
    Free Throw Percentage: 76% (3rd)
    Rebound Margin: +6 (3rd)

Top Players:  (GPAC rank / NAIA-if top 10)
    Jason Spicer (All-American)  19.4ppg (3rd), 60% FG (3rd), 5.8rpg (10th), 157 assists (1st/9th)
    Ty Hoglund (All-American, GPAC Freshman of Year)  18.8ppg (4th), 74 3pters (6th), 78 assists
    Trae Vandeberg (All-Conference)  15.4ppg, 59 3pters, 101 assists (6th)
    Nygel Drury  10.9ppg, 44 3pters, 42% 3pt (7th), 3.9rpg

T10th Northwestern College: 12-4 (3rd), 22-4    Head Coach: Kris Korver (18th year)

Northwestern has won five straight games and sits in third place in the current GPAC standings with a 12-4 record, one game in back of both Morningside and Briar Cliff, with two games remaining. The Red Raiders are 22-4 overall, the 26th time they have 20+ games in a season and 13th under Coach Korver. They earned wins over Morningside, Dordt, Concordia, Mount Marty and Midland during their win streak.

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank / NAIA-if top 10)
    Scoring Offense: 92.8ppg (1st / 2nd)
    Scoring Defense: 79.8ppg (9th)
    Field Goal Percentage: 51% (2nd / 4th)
    3pt Percentage: 39% (1st); 266 3pters (2nd) 
    Free Throw Percentage: 83% (1st / 1st) 
    Rebound Margin: +6 (2nd)

Top Players:
    Colton Kooima-All-American, 3x All-GPAC; 21.3ppg (1st), 69 3pters (5th), 88 assists (8th)
    Nathan Wedel-3x All-Conference; 21ppg (2nd), 6.4rpg (7th), 60% FG (4th), 105 assists (5th)     
    Derek Buysse-All-Conference; 15.4ppg, 76 3pters (2nd), 5.1rpg
    Riley Francis-All-Conference; 12.4ppg, 6.2rpg (9th), 38 3pters

Northwestern has outrebounded its opponent in six consecutive games; held edge in 20 of 26 games played