Northwestern faces a stiff road test when they play (RV) Dordt Wednesday night, Jan. 23, in Sioux Center. Tip-off at the DeWitt Gym is scheduled for 8pm. Both teams are 7-6 and tied for fifth in the current GPAC standings. Northwestern is 13-9 overall while the Defenders are 15-8.
Last time between theses two, Trent Hilbrands scored a game-high 23 points in leading Northwestern to a 74-69 win over the Defenders in a match-up played at the Bultman Center on Nov. 28.
Dordt has won two straight and three of its last four heading into Wednesday night’s showdown, earning wins over Dakota Wesleyan, Mount Marty and Nebraska Christian while losing to #4 Morningside. They are tied with Northwestern for fifth place in the GPAC with a 7-6 record, 15-8 overall. Since the new year, Dordt is 4-2 and is 3-5 against ranked teams.
Hired last March, Van Haaften is in his first season as the Defenders’ head coach, coming to Dordt after a long tenure as the head of the Buena Vista program. Van Haaften earned over 400 wins and posted a 69% win percentage during his tenure (1996-2017) with the Beavers. He inherits a Defenders’ squad that returns four starters and 10 players from a 2017-18 team that finished tied with Midland for eighth in the GPAC at 6-12, 12-19 overall.
The Red Raiders had their five-game win streak snapped last time out, falling to No.4 Morningside 90-85 last weekend. They are now tied with Dordt for fifth place in the current GPAC standings at 7-6, 13-9 overall, with seven games left in the regular season. Wednesday night’s match-up will be the third straight game against a ranked opponent for the Red Raiders.
