Trent Hilbrands scored a game-high 26 points, including his team's final five points in regulation, to lead 19th-ranked Northwestern to a 97-95 double overtime win over Doane this afternoon in Crete, Neb.
The Red Raiders push their record to 6-2 in the GPAC, 14-4 overall; Doane remains winless in conference play (0-8) and falls to 4-13 overall.
Down three late in regulation, Hilbrands drained a long three-pointer and tied the game, 74-74, with 45 seconds left. Doane regained the lead on its next possession on a jumper by Anthony Laravie but Hilbrands sent the game into overtime with a free throw line jumper with 12.3 seconds remaining.
Faling behind by four in the first overtime,
Grant Rohrer scored four straight points and Hilbrands converted a lay-up to give Northwestern its first lead (84-82) of the extra period with one minute left. Both teams came up empty on their respective offensive possessions and, after a Doane timeout, the Tigers sent the game into a second overtime when Laravie putback his own miss just before time expired to tie the game at 84.
Hilbrands knocked down his third and final three-pointer to start the second overtime, giving his team the lead for good, 87-84. Northwestern stretched the lead to six after two free throws by
Jay Small with 1:18 left but Doane made one last run, scoring five unanswered points on a three-pointer from Zach Witters and a steal and lay-up by Tyler Sullivan. A Northwestern turnover gave Doane a chance for the lead but Laravie missed on a jumper with 12 seconds left and Small grabbed the key rebound and was immediately fouled where he converted both free throws to preserve the win.
Hilbrands made 10-of-17 field goal attempts and scored 20+ points for the seventh time this season. Both Rohrer (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Small (20 points, 10 rebounds) turned in double-doubles for Head Coach
Kris Korver's squad. Rohrer's 11 boards was a career-high and he tallied his second double-double of the season, fourth of his career. Small has four double-doubles on the year.
Keegan Van Egdom added 11 points and three rebounds.
Northwestern shot 55% for the game, 40% (14/35) from the three-point line, but committed 24 turnovers compared to nine by Doane. Rebounding was even, although Doane pulled down 23 offensive boards leading to a huge advantage in second-chance points.
A strong start (21-15 lead) by Northwestern was quickly erased with a 14-4 run as Doane took a 29-25 lead with five minutes left in the first half. The host Tigers led 37-30 at halftime.
Hilbrands sparked a Red Raider comeback. scoring seven of his teams first 11 points, to spark an 11-4 run and tie the game at 41 early in the second half. The lead changed hands eight times and largest lead was five (by Doane) over the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Joe Burt led Doane with 23 points, making a game-high five three-pointers; Laravie scored 17 points on 24 field goal attempts and Garran Pauli contributed 14 points and eight rebounds. The Tigers shot 39% for the game, 30 (9/30) from the three-point line.
