Northwestern at Dordt

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The Red Raiders suffered their first loss of the season as they lost to Dordt, 104-89, in the GPAC opener for both teams. Northwestern drops to 5-1 overall, 0-1 in the GPAC, and the Defenders improve to 5-2 overall.

Dordt grabbed the early lead, 11-5, and outscored NWC 8-2 to take command 19-7 with 15 minutes to go in the first half. Northwestern then outscored the host Defenders, 12-2 to cut the lead down to two at the 10 minute mark. The Red Raiders took their first lead of the game, 37-36, on a three pointer by Mark DeYounge, with 2:49 left in the half but it was short-lived as the game was tied at 40 by halftime.

The Red Raiders took the lead early in the second half, 45-44, before Dordt went on an 11-0 run to take a 55-45 lead. NWC battled back, however, and were within three points (65-62) with 10 minutes to go. The Defenders responded once again and scored the next five points and Northwestern would get no closer than five the rest of the way.

Northwestern shot 52% from the floor, 39% from beyond the arc, compared to 55% for the Defenders. Dordt won the battle of the boards, 40-21, and committed nine fewer turnovers. The Red Raiders were led by junior guard, Kale Wiertzema, who scored 26 points on 10/16 from the field. Curt Schilling scored 15 points while Chad Schuiteman and Mark DeYounge added 13 points each before both players fouled out. Schuiteman grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and dished out eight assists.

The Red Raiders will host the Taco John's/Subway Classic this weekend. There will be two games on both Friday and Saturday as NWC plays Grace University at 8:00 pm on Friday and will host top-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday at 6:00 pm.