Trent Hilbrands poured in a season-high 28 points in leading Northwestern to a 98-90 win against Briar Cliff in a GPAC road match-up played tonight at the Newman Flanagan Center. The Raiders improve to 3-2 in the conference, 6-2 overall; Briar Cliff stumbles to a 1-3 league record, 3-5 overall.
The Raiders picked up their third straight win against Briar Cliff and improved to 64-52 all-time against their rivals from Sioux City.
Hilbrands made good on 12-of-19 field attempts, including four three-pointers, and also dished out five assists. Alex Van Kalsbeek contributed 16 points and six rebounds, scoring 13 in the second half. Jay Small drained five three-pointers en route to a 15-point effort and became the newest member of the 1,000-point club, reaching the milestone with his second three-pointer of the game made at the 18:05 mark of the first half.
Trailing by five (79-74), Keegan Van Egdom knocked down a three-pointer and began an 11-0 run to put Northwestern in front for good, 85-79, with 6:50 left to go. The Raiders continued their scoring run and stretched their lead to 12 (94-82) following another Van Egdom three-pointer by the three-minute mark.
Northwestern shot 63% for the game, 46% (12/26) from the three-point line, and 10/14 from the charity stripe. Van Egdom (14), Craig Sterk (13pts) and Isaac Heyer (10pts) also scored in double figures, giving Head Coach Kris Korver’s squad six players in double figures. Northwestern controlled the boards, 33-26, and dished out 19 assists, led by Hilbrands (5) and Small (4).
An 8-1 Chargers run near the end of the first 20 minutes put the hosts in front 51-47 after a high-scoring, back-and-forth first half. Both teams shot well in the first half; NW-58% and BCU-57%. The Raiders held Briar Cliff to just 38% shooting over the final 20 minutes.
Quinten Vasa led Briar Cliff with 24 points and seven boards, followed by Ethan Freidel with 20.
