HASTINGS, Neb. – The (RV) Northwestern College men’s basketball team (21-9, 13-7 GPAC) finishes the regular season with an 82-69 road win over the Hastings Broncos (7-23, 2-18 GPAC) behind a career-high 22 points from freshman Conner Geddes.
In a close first half, the Raiders would put up 50 second half points to down the Broncos 82-69 to wrap up the regular season with 21 wins, and 13 wins in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play. The Raiders were led by Geddes (Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Harrisburg) who shot 8-for-15 from the field with five 3-pointers, six rebounds, and five assists in 30 minutes of action.
Hastings came ready to play early in the first half, as they tore off a 12-0 run in five minutes of game time to take an 18-7 lead with 10:40 left in the first half. Just when things looked shaky for the Raiders, Northwestern did what they do best – knock down 3-pointers. Back-to-back-to-back three’s, subsequently a 9-0 run of their own to respond, cut the Broncos lead down to two, 18-6. Grant DeMeulenaere (Sr., Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) would give Northwestern their first lead since it was 7-6 when Hastings went on their run, with under eight minutes remaining in the half at 20-18.
The two teams would trade buckets the rest of the half. Tied at 31-31 with a minute and a half left, Geddes would grab a rebound and go coast-to-coast, drawing a foul. He would knock down one-of-two, as the Raiders would take the 32-31 lead into the locker room. At the half, Trent Hilbrands (Sr., Remsen, Iowa/Le Mars Community) was the only Raider in double digit scoring with 10 points.
Early in the second half, Hilbrands would be fouled shooting a three and would knock down all three free throws. That would be the start of a 9-0 run and it would also mark the last time Hastings would hold a lead in the contest (35-32, 19:09 2H).
Northwestern would continue to expand their lead the rest of the half, leading by as many as 21 points (82-61) with just over a minute remaining. Hastings wouldn’t give in, as they would score the last eight points of the contest to cut the deficit to 82-69. Geddes would score 19 of his 22 points in the second half, a huge reason the Raiders were able to pull away.
All five Northwestern starters scored double digits in the final regular season contest of the season. Hilbrands contributed 19 points, DeMeulenaere tallied 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Alex Van Kalsbeek (So., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) had 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Matt Onken (R-So., Marshall, Minn./Marshall) also had 11 points.
Up Next: The Raiders will prepare for the Quarterfinals of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) conference tournament on Wednesday, February 23. The conference office announced the official seedings as Northwestern earned the No. 3-seed and will play host to No. 6-seed Doane on Wednesday, February 23 inside the Bultman Center.
