Dakota Wesleyan at Northwestern

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Game Time... Northwestern begins a two-game home stand this evening as they play host to seventh-ranked Dakota Wesleyan in the Bultman Center. With two games left to play in the regular season, the Red Raiders hold a one game lead over Dordt for sixth place in the GPAC standings with a 9-7 record, 14-12 overall. Dakota Wesleyan leads the conference by one game over Hastings with a 14-2 record and is 22-5 overall. Watch/listen live to the game via the NWC webcast at the following link: Watch/Listen Now!\\

All-Time Record...The Red Raiders are 35-18 all-time against DWU but have lost the last three match-ups, including an 88-67 setback earlier this year in Mitchell, S.D. Northwestern lost both match-ups to DWU last year, ending a string of 16 straight victories by the Red Raiders.

Last Game vs DWU... The Tigers opened up a 48-28 halftime lead and never trailed in their 88-67 win over Northwestern on Jan. 15. The Red Raiders shot 38% for the game, 25% from beyond the arc compared to 45% by DWU. Daniel Van Kalsbeek and Brent Dunkelberger shared game-high honors with 15 points each while Walker Seim added 12. All five starters scored in double figures for DWU, led by Preston Broughton with 21 while both Brady Wiebe (15 pts, 16 reb) and Darrin Dorsey (16pts, 15 reb) recorded double-doubles.

DWU News and Notes...The GPAC-leading Tigers have won 11 straight games and are undefeated in 2010. Their last loss was a 70-62 setback at home on Dec. 29 against Cardinal Stritch (Wis.). DWU has climbed all the way up to seventh in this week's NAIA D-II coaches' poll, the second highest ranking in the history of the program. They were ranked fourth in this year's NAIA preseason poll. Most recently, Dakota Wesleyan has wins over USF (83-75), Concordia (73-63) and Mount Marty (68-56).

Last time out, DWU broke open a close game with eight straight points during the final minutes of the first half en route to a 68-56 road win over Mount Marty. Darrin Dorsey led all scorers with 30 points, making 10-of-14 field goal attempts. Brady Wiebe was the only other DWU player in double figures with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Head Coach John Hemenway is in his fifth season and has guided the Tigers to the national tournament three straight years. During that time, DWU won at least 24 games each season, including a 25-9 mark in 2008-09.

Dakota Wesleyan averages 80 points per game, shooting 49% from the field, second best in the GPAC. They rank fourth in the NAIA with 138 blocked shots and are second in the GPAC with 262 steals. Individually, Brady Wiebe, a third-team All-American in 2009, leads the Tigers with 17.8ppg, ranking sixth in the GPAC. The 6-6 junior is shooting 58% from the field and is fifth in the GPAC with 37 blocked shots. Preston Broughton returns after missing the 2008-09 season due to injury and averages 115ppg. Broughton earned first team All-American and GPAC player of the year honors in 2007-08. Wiebe (9.8) and Broughton (8.9) rank first and second in the GPAC in rebounding. Mitch Bain returns at the point guard position after earning honorable mention all-GPAC honors last year. Bain averages 10.5ppg and ranks among the league's best in assists (96) and steals (47). Chase Walder also returns and leads the team with 44 three-pointers and scores nearly eight points per game. Newcomer Darrin Dorsey ranks second on the team in scoring (17.7ppg) and is also among the leagues best in assists (157) and steals (80). He is second in the NAIA in steals and has 30 three-pointers this season.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern lost to Hastings 93-79 last weekend, ending its three-game win streak. The Raiders fell behind early, 25-8, but after a lay-up by Daniel Van Kalsbeek, were within eight (32-24). A free-throw by Brent Dunkelberger put NWC within seven (35-28) until Hastings closed the half on a 10-2 run and led 54-37 at intermission.

Northwestern cut the lead down to 10 on two different occasions in the second half but did not get any closer.The Red Raiders shot 42% from the field, 20% (4/20) from beyond the arc. Daniel Van Kalsbeek led the way with 20 points while Ryan Hoogeveen scored 12. Ben Miller netted 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds and Ryan Stock scored 10 points of the Raider bench. The Raiders slipped to 9-7 in the GPAC and hold a one game lead over Dordt for sixth place. They are 14-12 overall.

Coach Korver's squad  features two players who rank in the GPAC's top five in scoring. Daniel Van Kalsbeek leads the conference, averaging 19.4 points and ranks seventh in rebounds at 7.1 per game. He is shooting a team-best 56% from the floor and is fourth in the league with 37 blocked shots. Seim averages 18.3 points, ranking fourth in the GPAC, and ranks fourth in the NAIA with 91 three-point baskets. Ben Miller is the other NWC player scoring in double figures at 11.9 points per game to go with 6.6 boards per contest. Ryan Hoogeveen and Mike Vorwald are the other two starters for Coach Korver's squad, averaging 8.4 and 2.9 points per game, respectively. Vorwald ranks fourth in the conference with 120 assists while Hoogeveen averages 5.3 rebounds to go with 69 assists. Sophomore Ryan Stock provides the scoring off the Raider bench, putting in over seven points per game. He has 32 three-pointers this season.

Up Next... Northwestern plays its final home game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 20 against USF in what will also be Senior and Parent's Day.