Jay Small scored a game-high 25 points and
Grant Rohrer netted 20 in leading No.19 Northwestern to its sixth consecutive win, a 99-86 road victory against Midland, this afternoon in Fremont, Neb.
The Red Raiders improve to 5-1 in the GPAC, 11-2 overall; Midland slips to 1-5 in the conference, 3-8 overall.
Small made 8-of-16 shots from the field, converted all six free throw attempts for his fourth 20+ point game this season. The junior guard pulled down seven boards and dished out four assists. Rohrer missed just three shots, going 9-for-12 from the floor, and hit both free throws for 20 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds in his 18+ minutes of floor time.
Northwestern had its shooting touch early as they raced out to a 14-4 lead following
Isaac Heyer's second three-pointer at the 16:28 mark. Two
Grant DeMeulenaere three-pointers pushed the lead to 18 on two occasions and his third three-pointer of the half gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game, 47-26, with four minutes left in the first half. Midland closed the gap to 54-38 by halftime.
The Red Raiders shot 56% in the first half, 59% (10/17) from the three-point line, compared to 41% by Midland.
Midland continued to rally early in the second half, using a 12-4 run to cut the Red Raider advantage down to six (64-58). Northwestern pushed its lead back to double-digits after a three-pointer by Small and jumper from Rohrer with 12 minutes left. The Red Raider lead stayed around 9-12 points until the final minutes when Midland got as close as seven (93-86) at the one minute mark. A lay-up by
Trent Hilbrands and two free throws each by Heyer and
Keegan Van Egdom ended the game on a 6-0 run for Northwestern.
Head Coach
Kris Korver's squad shot 53% for the game, 42% (11/26) from the three-point line.
Craig Sterk, DeMeulenaere and Heyer all netted 12 points. Northwestern outrebounded Midland by three, 33-30, and committed only six turnovers.
Midland was led by Bowen Sandquist with 18 points and Laurence Merritt added 15. The Warriors shot 49% for the game, 33% (7/21) from the arc.
