JAMESTOWN, N.D. – The (RV) Northwestern College men’s basketball team (17-8, 9-6 GPAC) dropped their Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) contest at the University of Jamestown (19-6, 9-6 GPAC) to split the season series with the Jimmies. 85-74 would be the final.
The first half was back and forth for most of the half, as neither team built a lead bigger than eight through 12 minutes of action. In the final three and a half minutes of the first half, the Jimmies went on a 5-0 spurt helping them take a 42-33 lead into the break.
The second half saw the Raiders make multiple attempts to get back into the game, but Jamestown would always respond with a bucket of their own to keep the Raiders at bay. A 12-2 Jimmie run over a four minutes span built the lead back up to 13 (67-54) after Northwestern had battled to cut the lead down to three with 15:56 left. Jamestown was led by Mason Walters who had game-highs in points (37) and rebounds (16).
For the fourth time this season, Alex Van Kalsbeek (So., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) dropped 30+ points, scoring 30 points along with a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. Matt Onken (R-So., Marshall, Minn./Marshall) and Trent Hilbrands (Sr., Remsen, Iowa/Le Mars Community) also scored double digits with 19 and 13, respectively. Onken and Grant DeMeulenaere (Sr., Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) both had five rebounds in the effort.
Jamestown made 13 3-pointers in the contest today, while the Raiders only put up 12 3-point attempts. Despite outshooting the Jimmies (55.4% to 47.9%), the 3-pointer would allow Jamestown to prevail and even the season series. The Jimmies led the entire game from 18:31 left in the first half.
Up Next: The Raiders will hit the road for Nebraska next Saturday, February 5 to battle the Doane Tigers (14-10, 7-7 GPAC) in Crete, Neb. Tip-off is slated for 3:45 p.m. from the Heddrix Recreation and Athletic Center on the campus of Doane University.
