The Northwestern College men's basketball team split a pair of games against North Dakota teams, Mayville State and Valley City State, played this weekend.

The Red Raiders lost to Mayville State on Friday night, 81-57, but came back with a 99-68 victory against the Vikings on Saturday afternoon. Head Coach Kris Korver's squad is now 2-1 on the season.

vs Mayville State

Trent Hilbrands scored 13 points, one of three Red Raiders to net double figures, in his team's 81-57 loss to the Comets. 

Craig Sterk recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points to go with 12 boards, and Jay Small added 10 points.

Northwestern shot 36% for the game, 28% (8/29) from the three-point line; the Red Raiders were outrebounded 41-30 by Mayville State

Grant DeMeulenaere dished out a team-high five assists

The Red Raiders held an early five-point lead (14-9) after a jumper by DeMeulenaere; they still led 26-23 following a three-pointer by Small with 6:44 left in the first half.

Tied at 30, Mayville State closed with a 12-0 run over the final three-minutes to take the lead for good, 42-30

The Comets continued to surge ahead, beginning the second half with an 8-2 run; in total, a 20-2 Mayville State run over a seven-minute span was the difference

Mayville State was led in scoring by Simon Ramirez (16pts) and Rene Melendez (13pts)

vs Valley City State

Trent Hilbrands scored a game-high 27 pointsin leading Northwestern to a 99-68 win over Valley City State on Saturday afternoon.

Hilbrands shot 8-of-12 from the field and made six three-pointers; the junior also pulled down five rebounds

Noah Slagter poured in a career-high 15 points, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc; Isaac Heyer (11) and Grant Rohrer (10) were also in double figures; Rohrer grabbed eight rebounds and Grant DeMeulenaere dished out four assists.

Consecutive three-pointers by Hilbrands keyed a 10-0 run to put Northwestern in front for good, 26-17, with 9:30 left in the first half.

Valley City State guard Kevin Schramm draineda three-pointer to get within six (35-29) but Northwestern closed the half with a 16-2 run, led by Slagter who scored 11 of his 15 points over the final five minutes. 

Head Coach Kris Korver's squad led 51-31 at the break and another three-pointer by Hilbrands pushed the lead to 31 (72-41) at the 13-minute mark.

Northwestern shot 52% for the game, 52% (13/25) from the three-point line; they outrebounded VCSU 39-25

Connor Entzi led the Vikings with 12 points; Will Tinjum added 10