Jamestown at Northwestern

• PREVIEW
• BOXSCORE

Game Time... The Northwestern College men's basketball team will make their season debut this weekend as they host both Jamestown (N.D.) and Valley City State (N.D.). The Red Raiders were picked second in the GPAC preseason poll and are ranked 13th in the NAIA preseason poll. The Jimmies come into the weekend with a 2-0 record while the Vikings, who received votes in the NAIA preseason poll, are also 2-0. Game time Friday night is 8:00 pm and Saturday's game is at 4:00 pm. Tune in to both games via the NWC web-cast.

Scouting Reports...Jamestown: The 2008-2009 season will bring a new look to the Jamestown College men's basketball team having graduated seven seniors from last year's Dakota Athletic Conference championship team. Over the past few seasons the Jimmies basketball squad was anchored by All-Americans Kyle Iverson and Jake Holen and a strong supporting cast who graduated as well.

The returning talent begins with juniors John Peabody and Tom Bachmeier. Peabody a 6'8, 240 pound center has had to wait patiently playing behind Kyle Iverson, who finished 5th on the all-time scoring list at Jamestown College. Tom Bachmeier, a strong guard will bring a defensive attitude to the wing rotation for the Jimmies next year. Sophomores Evan Savageau, Luke Lorenz, Ross Florhaug and Elliot Risbrudt will be looked to for increased production in their expanded roles in 08-09. Savageau averaged 4.5 ppg while shooting 41% from three point range and gave the Jimmies some much needed help on both ends of the floor last season. Lorenz, stepped into key situations seamlessly last year. The 2008 recruiting class features four standouts in Tanner Farkas, Dustin Herrmann, B.J. Mertens and Jake Bauer along with several JUCO transfers.

The Jimmies are 2-0 this season with victories over Peru State (67-63) and a last second win over Midland Lutheran (55-54), both at the Midland Lutheran Classic last weekend. Savageau leads the team with 18.5ppg and has made a team-best three trifectas. John Peabody has averaged 12ppg and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game.

Valley City State: The Vikings are the preseason favorite in the DAC as they return 10 letter winners and all five starters from last season. Valley City State and third year head coach Jeff Kaminsky finished third in the DAC with a 10-4 record, 22-8 overall and were ranked as high as 12th in 2007-08. They lost in the conference semifinals and just missed out on the Big Dance but still enjoyed its finest season in 20 years.

Leading the list of returners are second team all-DAC forward Tyler Macomber and third team all-DAC picks Mike Stowman and Zac Wolff. Macomber ranked second on the team averaging 11ppg and led the squad with 7.2 boards per game. A 6-2 senior guard, Stowman led the team with 12ppg and shot a team-best 33% from beyond the arc. Wolff, a 6-7 senior, led the DAC with 1.4 blocks per game and also put in 10.7ppg. Calvin Kraft (10ppg), Orlando Anderson (8.4ppg) and Raymond King (6.4ppg) are the other top scorers that return for coach Kaminsky's squad. Mike York, a 5-10 junior guard, also returns after being named the DAC defensive player-of-the-year last season.

Like Jamestown, Valley City State is 2-0 on the season with a pair of victories at the Midland Lutheran Classic. They defeated Midland Lutheran 78-62 and followed with a 72-58 win over Peru State.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern will be making their 2008-09 season debut this weekend with a team that returns nine letter winners and three starters from last season. In 2007-08, the Red Raiders finished second in the GPAC regular season with a 15-3 mark and won the postseason championship over Briar Cliff. NWC earned its 10th straight national tournament appearance where they went 3-0 and made it to the Final Four for the second straight year. The Red Raiders lost to Bellevue (Neb.) in the semifinals and finished 30-5 overall. Gone from last year's squad are a pair of 2,000 point scorers in All-Americans Chad Schuiteman and Curt Schilling along with all-GPAC pick and 1,000 point scorer Mark DeYounge. Wade Vander Maten, a key player off the bench, also graduated.

Head Coach Kris Korver begins his ninth season at the helm and is the winningest coach in the program's history with 222 wins and just 48 losses (.822). He has led the Red Raiders to eight straight national tournaments, winning the championship in 2001 and 2003. Korver will look to five experienced, battle-tested seniors for leadership this season. Kale Wiertzema and Andrew Stimson headline the list and have been starters for the past three seasons. A 6-3 guard, Wiertzema earned second team all-conference honors after averaging 13.3ppg, 3.4 rpg and 3.4apg. He has scored over 1,000 points in his career. Stimson, a 6-1 guard, earned honorable mention all-GPAC honors last year. He scored 8.8ppg and ranked second on the team with 52 three pointers. Stimson is 13th all-time with 125 three pointers in his career. Josh Van Es returns for his final season after earning all-conference honors as a freshman and averaged 3.1ppg in 2007-08. Juniors Ben Brown and Travis Van Regenmorter return after averaging 6.4 and 4.3 points per game. Brown made 32 three pointers and shot 31% from beyond the arc. A 6-9 post, Van Regenmorter started 21 games and pulled down 2.3 boards per game. Ryan Hoogeveen, a 6-2 sophomore, started 14 games as a freshman and averaged just under five points per game. Newcomers Brent Dunkelberger, Walker Seim and Alex Huisken will join the list of veterans this season.

Next up... Northwestern will play at #23 Bellevue (Neb.) on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 pm.