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Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
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Nike
mbb-recap-doane-240120
93
Winner Northwestern NWC 15-4, 8-3
89
Doane (NE) DOANE 7-12, 2-9
Winner
Northwestern NWC
15-4, 8-3
93
Final
89
Doane (NE) DOANE
7-12, 2-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Northwestern NWC 43 34 16 93
Doane (NE) DOANE 26 51 12 89

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

Late-Game Heroics Propel Raiders to Thrilling Road Win

CRETE, Neb. – A desperation three-pointer from Alex Van Kalsbeek sent the Northwestern Red Raiders Raiders (15-4, 8-3 GPAC) and Doane Tigers (7-12, 2-9) to overtime, where the Raiders secure a thrilling 93-89 win.
"You work on that play a lot, and Keyton had a perfect throw, Craig had a dynamic catch, and it was a bit of Raider magic," stated head coach Kris Korver. "Alex's shot was huge. I thought we played an awesome first half, we made a couple plays down the stretch to get it to overtime, and then in overtime we imposed our will on them going with a big lineup. Alex, Craig, and Keyton did a great job with some guys in foul trouble."

The Raider offense started off slow, only scoring two points in the first four minutes of action. Five consecutive points from sophomore point guard Kaleb Booth would be the start of a 9-0 run for Northwestern, putting them ahead 11-4. Doane would battle back to get within two at 20-18, but the rest of the half was all Red Raiders. A 14-2 run, punctuated by dunks from Zach LaFave and Craig Sterk would give the Raiders a double-digit lead that would not go away for the remainder of the half. Back-to-back 3's from Sterk and an and-one from Booth would send the Raiders into the break with a 43-26 lead. Sterk, off the bench, led the Raiders at the half with 15 points, his third consecutive time reaching double digits by halftime.

Doane did not go away easily on their home court and stormed out of the break on a 20-5 run to the come within two points of the Raiders. Sterk converted a four-point play to provide a little breathing room, but Doane responded with an 11-2 run, including a four-point play of their own to take their first lead since the first minute of the game. The remaining eight minutes of the game were back-and-forth, with Doane gunning for the big upset of the 14th-ranked Raiders. The Tigers would take a four-point lead with 36 seconds remaining. Sterk then kept the Raiders hopes alive with his fifth three-pointer of the night to cut the lead to one. After another made pair of free throws by the Tigers followed by a three-point miss by Northwestern, it looked as though Doane would complete the upset bid. Needing to go only 1-for-2 from the line to ice the game, Doane missed both free throws, keeping the difference at three points with three seconds remaining. After a Raider timeout, Keyton Moser heaved a ¾ court pass, with Sterk snagging it and redirecting to Van Kalsbeek, who hit a double clutch three (only his third of the season) to send the game to overtime.

Overtime continued to be a back-and-forth affair, but Northwestern would take control with five different Raiders scoring in the five-minute period. In the end, Booth would go 4-for-4 from the line to secure the thrilling, chaotic 93-89 win over the Tigers.
 
GAME NOTES
  • Today's game marks the first conference overtime game for Northwestern since last year in Crete (Nov. 19).
  • Their overtime win is the first overtime win since February 5, 2022, also at Doane.
  • Craig Sterk led the Raiders with 25 points, on the back of 5-for-9 shooting from deep.
  • Alex Van Kalsbeek had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. 21 of his points came after the halftime break.
  • Van Kalsbeek moved into the top-10 on the all-time scoring list, passing current assistant coach Ben Miller.
  • Kaleb Booth scored an efficient 15 points, while playing a season-high 41 minutes.
  • Keyton Moser finished one rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 10 with 9 rebounds.
  • The game-tying three-pointer from Van Kalsbeek was only his third three of the season and fifth of his career.

Up Next: Northwestern will wrap up their three-game road trip on Wednesday with a date with Dakota Wesleyan in Mithcell, South Dakota. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
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