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HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
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Nike
mbb-recap-viterbo-231110
46
Viterbo VIT 4-2, 0-0
78
Winner Northwestern NWC 3-0, 0-0
Viterbo VIT
4-2, 0-0
46
Final
78
Northwestern NWC
3-0, 0-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Viterbo VIT 24 22 46
Northwestern NWC 28 50 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | NWC Athletic Communications

Raiders Pull Away from Viterbo in Second Half

Van Kalsbeek records 17th-career double-double; four Raiders in double-figures

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – It was a tale of two halves as No. 18 Northwestern (3-0, 0-0 GPAC) scored 50 second-half points to defeat Viterbo (Wis.) (4-2, 0-0 NSAA) on Friday night in the Raiders' home opener. Alex Van Kalsbeek led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

"It was fun to be on our home floor," noted head coach Kris Korver. "Our fans were awesome!"
 
The visiting V-Hawks struck first, starting on a 12-4 run through the first six minutes to quiet an excited home crowd. However, back-to-back threes by Kaleb Booth (So., Carroll, Iowa) and Craig Sterk (Sr., McBain, Mich.) knotted up the score at 14-14 at the 10-minute mark of the first half. With the two squads battling for an advantage over the next five minutes, Van Kalsbeek (So., Sheldon, Iowa) gave Northwestern its first lead in nearly 15 minutes of play at 22-20. The Raider big scored the next four points while Zach LaFave (Jr., Elkhorn, Neb.) closed out the half with a thunderous steal and slam to put his team ahead 28-24 at the break.

Northwestern outscored Viterbo 50-22 in the second half, at one point going on a 33-7 run over 13 minutes to earn the dominant win. Dillon Carlson (Sr., Ankeny, Iowa) gave the Raiders their first double-digit lead, knifing through the lane to make the score 34-24 before Booth hit his second three of the night and followed it up with a two-handed dunk.

"Our guys played well defensively all night, and we really played well in the second half," Korver commented.

The dunk fest continued as Northwestern had three-consecutive possessions with dunks, two from Sterk and one from LaFave, to balloon their advantage to 29 points with 5:31 left. In his first minutes in a Red Raider uniform, Marcus Kelderman (So., Boyden, Iowa) threw down a jam to put an exclamation point on Northwestern's 78-46 win.

"Hopefully we will get a good night of rest and come back tomorrow ready to go."
 
GAME NOTES
  • Alex Van Kalsbeek hit season-highs in points (22) and rebounds (11).
  • Zach LaFave had his second double-digit scoring performance of the year, finishing with 12 points.
  • He also filled up the box score, notching five boards, three assists, three steals, and two blocks.
  • Dillon Carlson and Kaleb Booth also scored in double-figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
  • Craig Sterk grabbed 10 rebounds.
  • The Raiders shot at a 43.3% clip.
Up Next: The Raiders return to the Bultman Center to match up with Bellevue (Neb.) (0-5, 0-0 NSAA) tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
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