ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College men’s basketball team (1-0) opened up the 2021-22 season with a dominant 85-65 win over the Valley City State Vikings (0-1) in front of the home crowd Friday evening inside the Bultman Center.
Sophomore Alex Van Kalsbeek (Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) paced the Raiders, starting the season with a double-double. He led all scorers with 26 points on the night and collected a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Raiders started out red hot from the floor, beginning the game with an 8-0 and never allowed the Vikings to truly be in the contest. Trent Hilbrands (Sr., Remsen, Iowa/Le Mars Community) and Grant DeMeulenaere (Sr., Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) started with back-to-back three-pointers, and the Raiders extended their lead to 12-3 to force a Valley City timeout not even five minutes into the contest. The Raiders would take their largest lead at the half of 23 thanks to a 3-point bucket from Hilbrands with 1:51 to go in the half. At the break, three Raiders sat in double figures as Northwestern took a commanding 49-26 lead into the locker room. Van Kalsbeek led the Raiders with 14 points at the break, followed by 10 points from both Hilbrands and DeMeulenaere.
The Raiders wasted no time adding to their lead in the second half, beginning with a 5-0 spurt to take a 55-26 lead, eclipsing their largest lead of the contest at 29 points with 18 minutes to play. The Vikings would make a push of their own, going on a 9-0 run to cut the Raider lead to 20 points. Another 8-0 Viking run would cut the Northwestern lead to 12 at 61-49 with 8:29 to play, but Northwestern would put the stops to the run and put the game out of reach down the stretch. Van Kalsbeek was the only Raider to eclipse double-digits in the second half, putting up 12 points. Hilbrands and Matt Onken (R-So., Marshall, Minn./Marshall) tallied seven points in the half.
The Raiders shot hot all night, shooting 54.8% from the field, while holding Valley City State to only 34.4% from the floor. Shooting 6-18 from deep (33.3%), the Raiders were able to put the Vikings away. On the night, Northwestern only missed one free throw, converting 11-of-12 for a 91.1% mark.
Dominating not only offensively, the Raiders were able to clean up the boards, collecting 45 rebounds on the night, allowing the Vikings only eight offensive rebounds on their 42 missed shots on the night.
Up Next: The Raiders turnaround and return to the John and Ann Den Hartog court inside the Bultman Center when they host the Mayville State Comets (0-1) tomorrow night, October 30, following the conclusion of the volleyball match.
