Craig Sterk scored a game-high 22 points and
Grant Rohrer added 18 in leading Northwestern to its fifth straight win, a 76-73 home victory over Midland Saturday afternoon.
The Red Raiders have won five straight, their second longest win streak of the season, and stay tied with Dakota Wesleyan for second place in the GPAC with a 12-6 record, 20-8 overall. Midland slips to 5-13 in the conference, 9-16 overall.
Sterk and Rohrer, the two Red Raider big men, combined for 40 points and made 17-of-28 field goal attempts to go with 10 rebounds.
Trent Hilbrands scored 12 points and
Jay Small contributed eight points and a career-best 19 rebounds.
How The Game Played Out...
A 13-4 Northwestern run broke a 7-7 tie to put the hosts in front 20-11 with 11:15 left in the first half; Rohrer scored six points during the run.
Another 6-0 surge gave the Red Raiders their largest lead, 36-22, after Hilbrands knocked down a three-pointer with five minutes left in the half
Midland closed the half on a 9-2 run to get within seven, 38-31, by halftime; the Warriors held Northwestern without a field goal over the last five-plus minutes
The Warriors closed the gap even further in the opening moments of the second half, getting to within two, 43-41, on a three-point play by Kylan Smallwood.
Head Coach
Kris Korver's squad then went inside to Rohrer, who scored nine points during an 11-3 run, to build the lead back up to 10, 54-44
Midland would not go away, however, as the Warriors slowly chipped away the Red Raider lead, coming all the way back to tie it at 72-72 with 2:22 left
Sterk scored on a turnaround jumper in the lane to put Northwestern in front for good and the hosts buckled down defensively, forcing Midland to miss its final four shots
By the Numbers...
Northwestern shot 48% for the game, 30% (7/23) from the three-point line; 11/16 from the foul line (69%)
Midland shot 37% for the game, 24% (10/42) from beyond the arc, 5/15 in the second half; 11/15 from the free throw line (73%)
Korver's squad held a big edge on the boards, 47-32, led by Small (19) and both Sterk and
Grant DeMeulenaere pulled down six each
Samuel Mailloux led Midland with 20 points, followed by Kylan Smallwood with 15.
