ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College men’s basketball team (21-10, 13-7 GPAC) is set to compete in their third-consecutive National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Ballogy.
The Raiders are set to battle No. 16-ranked and No. 4-seed the Cougars of the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) (23-8, 13-6 CL) on Friday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. from the Garvey Center in Wichita, Kan. on the campus of Friends University and hosted by the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
The University of Saint Francis (USF) – under the direction of head coach Chad LaCross – hails out of the Crossroads League (CL) where they compiled a 13-6 mark in league play, earning the No. 3-seed in their conference tournament. The Cougars would fall to No. 6-seed Huntington (Ind.) 80-74, despite two 20+ point performances from David Ejah (25pts.) and Antwaan Cushingberry (20pts.).
USF saw three athletes named to the Crossroads League All-Conference team, including First Team performers in Ejah and Cushingberry. Dan McKeeman joins as a Second Team performer. Cushingberry was also named to the league’s All-Defensive team.
Cushingberry, a junior, leads the team in scoring with 22.2 points per game, while also shooting 38.7% from behind the 3-point line for the Cougars. Close behind him, also averaging 20+ points, is sophomore Ejah with 20.2 points per game, shooting a hot 54.0% from the floor, leading all Cougars with major minutes. Third All-Conference performer, McKeeman, averaged 10.7 points per game. Jalan Mull is the fourth – and final – Cougar averaging double digit points per game (10.7).
Ejah leads the team averaging nearly 10 rebounds per game (9.3rpg), Cushingberry grabs 5.5 per game. On the assist front, the Cougars are led by Cushingberry (4.6apg) and Mull (3.7apg), as the team averages just shy of 15 assists per game (14.8).
The Cougars have played 31 games this season, compiling a 23-8 mark. They average 83.4 points per game, while shooting 47.1% from the floor and 37.4% from deep on the year.
The Raiders are led by four Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) All-Conference performers, and two First Team selections in Alex Van Kalsbeek and Trent Hilbrands. Three Raiders average double-digit points per game, led by Van Kalsbeek (22.5), Hilbrands (18.5), and Matt Onken (11.4).
Van Kalsbeek, Onken, and Grant DeMeulenaere clean up the boards for Northwestern averaging 8.1, 6.4, 5.0, respectively. DeMeulenaere leads the team dropping 3.9 assists per game, followed closely by Van Kalsbeek with 3.6.
Northwestern averaged 79.0 points per game, and holds opponents to 72.4 points per game en route to their 21-10 record on the season. The Raiders shoot a hot 51.1% from the floor in their 31 games this year, while being just shy of 40% from deep (39.3%). The team averages 35 rebounds a contest and dishes out 16.8 assists per game.
This season marks the 24th all-time appearance in the NAIA national tournament for the Raiders, and the 15th appearance under head coach Kris Korver. In program history, the Raiders are 31-21 in national tournament contests.
Under Coach Korver, Northwestern holds a 24-13 record in the national tournament, including two national titles (2001, 2003). Nine of the 15 appearances spearheaded by Korver, the Raiders have won at least one game.
The Wichita, Kan. (Friends University) region, hosted by the KCAC, features the No. 4, 5, 12, and 13 seeds of the Cramer quadrant. The Cougars of Saint Francis (Ind.) (23-8) got the No. 4 seed; KCAC-member, the Bethel (Kan.) Threshers (26-7) holds the No. 5-seed, GPAC-foe Briar Cliff Chargers (19-11) notched the No. 12-seed, followed by Northwestern (21-10) with the No. 13-seed.
