SEWARD, Neb. – The Northwestern College men’s basketball team (8-4, 1-3 GPAC) fell in to the Bulldogs of Concordia (Neb.) (9-2, 4-2 GPAC) in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Saturday evening, 95-78.
Concordia jumped out to an early 16-4 lead with 14 minutes to play, but the Raiders would battle back to tie the game at 32-32 with six minutes left in the opening half. By halftime, the Raiders trailed by just two points 52-50, after battling back from the early double-digit deficit. It was a two man show in the first half for the Raiders as Alex Van Kalsbeek (So., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) and Trent Hilbrands (Sr., Remsen, Iowa/Le Mars Community) both had just under 20 points each. Van Kalsbeek had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Hilbrands scored 16 points.
The second half proved to be all Bulldogs, led by guard Carter Kent who had 14 second half points. The Raiders just couldn’t get anything going in the second half, scoring on 28 points in the half. The Bulldogs shot 55.7% from the field, led by Kent who led all scorers with 32 points in the game.
Van Kalsbeek picked up his fifth double-double of the season to pace the Raiders with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Hilbrands also eclipsed the 20-point mark with 22 on the day, and Matt Onken (INFO) also tallied double-digit points with 11. Grant DeMeulenaere (Sr., Altoona, Iowa/Grand View Christian) dropped eight points and six assists.
Up Next: Northwestern will travel back to De Witt Gymnasium on the campus of Dordt University this upcoming Wednesday, December 8 to battle the arch-rival Defenders at 7:45 p.m.
