Orange City, Iowa — Alex Van Kalsbeek and Jay Small combined for 58 points in leading No.23 Northwestern to a 74-69 win against (RV) University of Jamestown (N.D.) in a GPAC semifinal played Saturday afternoon at the Bultman Center.
The win advances the Raiders into the GPAC Championship game on Tuesday night, March 2, against No.8 seed Mount Marty, who defeated No.4 seed Dakota Wesleyan in double overtime in the other semifinal. Tip-off for Tuesday’s home title contest is set for 7pm at the Bultman Center.
Van Kalsbeek was fabulous against the talented front line of the Jimmies, scoring a game-high 34 points to go with 11 rebounds as he made another case for being the GPAC’s top freshman. Van Kalsbeek made 15-of-21 field attempts, went 4-for-5 from the foul line, and passed his brother, Daniel, for second place all-time for points scored by a freshman with 564.
Small was equally effective for Head Coach Kris Korver’s squad, scoring 24 points to go with five boards and five assists. The senior missed just four shots from the floor and played nearly all 40 minutes.
Northwestern fell behind by as many as eight and trailed for much of the first half that ended with Jamestown in front by five (37-32) following a three-pointer from Marc Kjos with 33 seconds left. Looking at the halftime stat sheet, Jamestown shot 45% (5/11) from beyond the arc while the Raiders were just 1/8 from three-point line; only one free throw was attempted in the opening half, by Small, who converted it with nine minutes left.
The Raiders began the second half with a 10-2 run, taking their first lead since the opening basket of the game, led by Van Kalsbeek who scored seven consecutive points and finished off with a three-pointer by Isaac Heyer. The lead was short lived however, as Jamestown rallied with a 16-6 surge over a three-minute stretch to push its lead back to six, 61-55, at the 7:25 mark.
With the quest for a GPAC Championship berth on the line, Northwestern scored the next six points on back-to-back three-point plays by Small and Heyer to tie the game at 61. The game was tied two more times over the next two minutes until the Raiders began a decisive 6-0 run, beginning with a Van Kalsbeek free throw and capped by a free throw from Heyer. Northwestern’s final basket came on a break-away dunk by Craig Sterk, sending the Raider bench and fans into a jubilant celebration.
Northwestern shot 52% for the game, 60% over the final 20 minutes, and had the edge from the foul line (10-4).
Jamestown was led by Mason Walters with 28 points and 12 rebounds, making good on 12-of-22 field goal attempts. The Jimmies cooled off considerably in the second half from beyond the arc, making only 2-of-11 attempts.
