Northwestern at Morningside

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Game Time... Northwestern heads to Sioux City on Wednesday (Feb. 20) to take on top-ranked Morningside in a GPAC men's basketball showdown at 8:00 pm. The Red Raiders have won five straight games and are ranked 11th in the last NAIA poll with a 22-4 mark. The Mustangs are 15-1 in the GPAC, 26-1 overall. Click on the link below to view/listen to the game courtesy of the VSN Network with play-by-play and color provided by Jason Dannelly and Corey Westra.      VSN Video/Audio

Scouting Report... The top-ranked Mustangs lead the GPAC with a 15-1 record and have clinched at least a tie for the regular season title. Morningside holds a 26-1 overall record and won 23 straight games earlier this season. Their only loss is a 91-79 loss to Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, S.D. on Feb. 6. Head Coach Jim Sykes is in his fifth season with the Mustangs and holds a 69% winning percentage.

Morningside ranks third in the GPAC in scoring averaging 81.5ppg and third in field goal percentage at 48%. They lead the league in three pointers (234), three point percentage (43%), steals (245) and turnovers, just 13.8 per game. Defensively, the Mustangs give up 65ppg and teams are shooting 42% from the field.

Individually, the senior laden Mustangs are led by guards Jack Rother and Thomas Pargett. Rother. a two-time all-league selection, averages a team-best 12.8ppg and is seventh in the league in steals with 46. Pargett averages 12.2ppg and is fourth in the GPAC with 58 three pointers and eighth in three point percentage (43%). Senior guard Matt Johnson rounds out the starting line-up and averages 7.3ppg and leads the team in assists (68) and steals per game. Seth Atkins and David Price start for the Mustang front-court. Price, a 6-6 senior, averages 6.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Atkins, a 6-6 junior, leads the team in field goal percentage (55%) and rebounds (6.1). He is second in the league with 66 offensive rebounds. Senior Shane Michael leads a deep and talented bench averaging 8.9ppg. The sharpshooter is second in the NAIA in three point percentage (55%) and is second in the league with 66 three pointers. Greg Nelson, Brady Helmink and Nick Thompson are also in the regular rotation for Coach Sykes. Thompson averages 7.1ppg while Helmink is shooting 47% from beyond the arc.

Last Time Out... Morningside rolled to a 85-63 win over Dana last Saturday afternoon in Blair, Neb. It was the Mustangs third straight win and clinched at least a share of the GPAC regular season championship. M'side led 45-32 at the half and outscored the host Vikings 40-31 in the second half. Morningside shot 50% for the game and dominated the glass, 46-24. The Mustangs were placed four players in double figures led by Brady Helmink with 17. Jack Rother and Thomas Pargett netted 16 and 15 points, respectively. Seth Atkins added 12 points while Rother pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

The Northwestern College men's basketball team won their fifth straight game as they rolled past Doane College, 99-82, in Crete, Neb. The Red Raiders turned a 3-2 deficit into a 12-5 lead during the opening minutes and never trailed after that point. Doane cut the lead down to four, 19-15, but NWC went on a big 29-9 run to go up 48-24. The Tigers scored the next nine points but Kale Wiertzema connected on back-to-back three pointers to close the half that put his team up 54-33 at intermission. Coach Korver's squad continued to roll in the second half as they led by as much as 29 points.

For the game, NWC shot 52% and were led Curt Schilling with 33 points, one shy from tying his career high of 34. He made 11/18 field goal attempts and went 5/8 from beyond the arc. Kale Wiertzema and Mark DeYounge added 18 and 11points, respectively. The Red Raiders dominated the glass, 42-31, led by Chad Schuiteman with 11 and DeYounge with seven. Schilling dished out a game-high seven assists.

Red Raider Notes...With two regular season games remaining, the Red Raiders are in sole possession of second place in the GPAC standings, two games behind Morningside. NWC is 22-4 overall and moved up seven spots in this week's NAIA rating to 11. Four GPAC teams continue to be ranked in the top 25: Morningside-1, DWU-19 and Dordt-22; and Briar Cliff continues to receive votes.

As a team, the Red Raiders are the highest scoring team in the league averaging 87ppg. They also lead the GPAC in field goal percentage (51%) and are third in three pointers (203) and fourth in three point percentage (39%). NWC ranks fourth in rebounding and are giving up 76ppg.

Curt Schilling ranks second in the league averaging just under 20ppg. He is first in three pointers (69) and fourth in three point percentage (46%). Schilling is fifth all-time in school history with 1,930 points. Chad Schuiteman, who is third all-time with 2,061 points, averages 14.8ppg and leads the NAIA with 11.5rpg. He also leads the GPAC in steals (49) and is third in assists (103). Kale Wiertzema is the other Red Raider in double figures at 12.5ppg. Wiertzema ranks seventh in the league in three point percentage (44%) and is fourth in the assists (99). Mark DeYounge averages 9.4ppg and is 10th in the league shooting 53% from the field. DeYounge is closing in on the 1,000 point milestone with 960 during his four-year career.

GPAC Schedule and Standings...
Dordt @ Briar Cliff
Nebraska Wesleyan @ Midland Lutheran
USF @ Mount Marty