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HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
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Nike
mbb-recap-midland-240115
75
Midland MIDLAND 7-10, 2-7
113
Winner Northwestern NWC 14-3, 7-2
Midland MIDLAND
7-10, 2-7
75
Final
113
Northwestern NWC
14-3, 7-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Midland MIDLAND 36 39 75
Northwestern NWC 58 55 113

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

Van Kalsbeek's Historic Night Fuels Raiders' Rout

Becomes second player in program history to record 50+ points

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Alex Van Kalsbeek scored a Northwestern program record 52 points to lead the Red Raider men's basketball team (14-3, 7-2 GPAC) to a historic win over the Midland Warriors (7-10, 2-7 GPAC).
 
"It was a lot of fun watching our guys play tonight," head coach Kris Korver stated. "We were able to witness a lot of unselfishness with 29 assists."

Van Kalsbeek wasted no time getting his historic night started, scoring the first nine points for the Red Raiders. The Raiders continued in an offensive frenzy with a Craig Sterk three-pointer, making the lead 22-8 and forcing a Midland timeout. The Warriors showed some fight and tough shot making, clawing their way back to a five-point deficit around the halfway mark of the half. From there, though, it was all Raiders, on the back of the All-American Van Kalsbeek. He scored 15 of the Raiders final 22 points of the half to bring his game total to an impressive 34 points at halftime. Joining him in double figures was Craig Sterk with 12. Heading into the break, Northwestern led 58-36 on the back of 63% shooting from the field.

Van Kalsbeek quickly showed he wasn't satisfied with his first half performance, scoring 11 points in the first five minutes of the 2nd half, tying his career high (45) set at the national tournament in 2022. Contributions would come from elsewhere, as well, highlighted by a thunderous and-one Zach LaFave dunk at the 11:00 mark of the half. Make no mistake, though, this night was all about the big man from Sheldon. After leaving the game briefly due to a jersey issue, Van Kalsbeek checked back in with 7:40 remaining in the half and quickly score back-to-back buckets to bring his total to 49. The very next possession, he took a feed from Hunter Berry and muscled in a layup while taking contact, tying the school record of 51 points set by current assistant coach Colton Kooima. Cool, calm, and collected, he sunk his 10th free throw of the night to finish the and-one and claim ownership of the most points ever scored in a single game.

"Alex's teammates really love him," Korver said. "They wanted this for him, and that makes it a sweet team accomplishment. Alex will get his name in the record books, but his teammates wanted it for him and helped him make it happen."
 
Coach Korver immediately subbed Van Kalsbeek out, but the Raider offense didn't seem to mind as they piled on the points from a variety of sources, guiding them to a 113-75 win.


GAME NOTES
  • Alex Van Kalsbeek set school records for most points in a game (52) and most made field goals in one game (21).
  • Van Kalsbeek broke his season high scoring mark of 27 points at the 4:00 mark of the 1st half.
  • Northwestern scored a season high 113 points on the back of another season high 62.9 FG %.
  • Joining Van Kalsbeek in double figures were Craig Sterk (14 points) and Marcus Kelderman (10 points) with Kelderman's output setting a new career high.
  • Freshman Luke Korver went 2-2 from deep, scoring his first career points as a Raider.
  • Northwestern moves to 8-0 on the season inside the Bultman center.
Up Next: The Raiders will have a quick turnaround to finish their first time through the conference slate as they take on the 17th-ranked Mustangs of Morningside on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
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