The Northwestern College men’s basketball team plays host to 18th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan Wednesday night, Jan. 13, in a pivotal conference match-up. Tip-off at the Bultman Center is set for 8pm.
Northwestern sits in seventh place in the current GPAC standings with a 6-5 record, 11-5 overall; they are 7-1 at the Bultman Center. Dakota Wesleyan is in first place in the GPAC with a 9-1 record, 13-2 overall.
Earlier this yea, Dakota Wesleyan outscored the Raiders 17-10 over the final six minutes to earn an 82-76 win in a conference game played Dec. 9 at the Corn Palace. Northwestern led 66-65 after a jumper by Alex Van Kalsbeek but the host Tigers began an 8-2 run and closed with a 17-10 surge to get the come-from-behind win.
Jay Small led all players with 28 points and eight boards while Van Kalsbeek chipped in 20 for Northwestern, who shot 51% for the game. Dakota Wesleyan was led by Mason Larson and Koln Oppold with 20 points each; DWU shot 52% for the game, 50% (9/18) from the three-point line.
The Tigers lost for the first time in conference play last time out, falling 84-75 to Midland in a game played in Fremont, Neb. The loss snapped Dakota Wesleyan’s 13-game win streak and dropped them to 9-1 in the GPAC, just one game up on second place Morningside. They are 13-2 overall, having also lost to Valley City State in the first game of the season.
Wilber is in his eighth season as the head coach at DWU, owning a 165-70 record during his tenure, third most wins in program history. Wilber guided the Tigers to a national runner-up finish in 2014-15. Last year, DWU finished tied for second in the GPAC with a 13-7 record, 23-9 overall; they were the GPAC postseason runner-up and qualified for the national tournament.
The Raiders have won three of their last four games and bring an 11-5 record into Wednesday night’s game against DWU. Non-conference wins over Bellevue and Presentation, along with a GPAC victory against Mount Marty in their last game, have put the Raiders into seventh place in the current league standings.
