Midland at Northwestern

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Game Time... Northwestern College will host Midland Lutheran this Monday, Dec. 3rd in a GPAC men's basketball showdown. The Red Raiders are 6-2 overall, 0-1 in the league while the Warriors are 3-5 overall and 1-1 in GPAC play. Tipoff for the men's contest is at 4:00 pm. The game can be heard over the NWC web-cast at the following link:  NWC broadcast link.

Scouting Report... Midland Lutheran returns two starters from last year's squad which finished 10-19 overall, 8-10 in the league which earned them the eighth seed in the GPAC tournament. Head Coach Rich McGill is in his 27th season with the Warriors and has led this year's team to a 3-5 overall record. Since earning a 76-61 conference win over Dana, MLC has lost three straight games, including a 77-62 setback on Nov. 28 to Hastings. Zac Gradoville and Luke Simons are the two returning starters off last year's squad. Simons, a 6-2 junior, averages a team-best 15.4ppg and four rebounds per contest. He also leads the team with 13 three pointers and is tied for second with 22 assists. Gradoville, who earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors last season, averages 6.8ppg and like Simons, has 22 assists to his credit. Evan Lamprecht, a 6-8 freshman, averages nine points per game and is shooting 60% from the field. Adam Schmoldt (7.4ppg) and guard Jason Ahrens (6.9ppg) round out the starters for the Warriors. Schmoldt has made 11 three pointers this season and Ahrens leads the team with 23 assists and 10 steals.

Midland Lutheran is averaging 66 points per game and gives up 72.5ppg. They have shot 41% from the field so far this season.

Last Time Out... The Warriors were defeated by Hastings College in GPAC conference action, 77-62, on Nov. 28. MLC led by two, 37-35 after the first half, but shot just 30% and were outscored 42-25 in the second half. For the game, MLC shot 38% from the field and were 2-18 (11%) from the three point line. Four players scored in double figures as Ahrens, Simons and Gradoville all had 12 and Lamprecht added 10.

Northwestern suffered their second loss of the season last Saturday night at the Taco John's/Subway Classic, falling to top-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene, 87-75. Kale Wiertzema and Chad Schuiteman led NWC with 21 points each. Schuiteman also grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out three assists and had three steals. Curt Schilling netted 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern is 6-2 overall this season and were ranked second in the NAIA preseason poll. The Red Raiders are led by senior All-Americans, Chad Schuiteman and Curt Schilling. Both players have scored over 1,000 points in their careers and are averaging 16.6 and 19.8ppg, respectively. Schuiteman also leads the team in rebounds (11.1) and assists (35). He earned all-tournament honors at the Taco John's/Subway Classic last weekend. Schilling is shooting 52% from beyond the arc and has made 22 three pointers this season. Kale Wiertzema and Mark DeYounge are also scoring in double figures with 12.5 and 10.5ppg, respectively. Wiertzema has dished out 32 assists, second best on the team, while DeYounge is averaging 3.5 rebounds per contest. Andrew Stimson scores 7.5ppg and Josh Van Es comes off the bench to chip in 5.9ppg.

Northwestern averages 92ppg and is giving up 79ppg.

Next up... Northwestern will take to the road next week as they play Dakota Wesleyan (Dec. 5) and Mount Marty (Dec. 8) in key GPAC match-ups.