Mount Marty at Northwestern

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Game Time... The Northwestern College men's basketball team opens postseason play tonight as they play host to Mount Marty at 7:00pm in the Bultman Center. The Red Raiders finished the regular season with a 9-9 GPAC record, 14-14 overall and are the seventh seed in the 12-team tournament. Mount Marty tied with Dana and Doane for 10th place in the final GPAC standings with a 5-13 record, 7-22 overall. They are the tournament's 10th seed. Watch/Listen live to the game via the NWC webcast at the following link: Watch/Listen Now!

Third Match-up of the Season... This marks the third game of the season between the two rivals with Northwestern winning both match-ups. The Red Raiders rallied from a 40-29 halftime deficit to knock off the Lancers in Yankton, S.D., 75-72 on Nov. 24. Daniel Van Kalsbeek scored a game-high 26 points and Walker Seim added 13 for NWC. Jared Wall led four Lancer players in double figures with 15 points and Bo Bruckner added 13. Northwestern then knocked off Mount Marty 81-59 on Feb. 3 in Orange City. Van Kalsbeek once again held game-high honors with 23 points and eight rebounds. Seim and Ben Miller were also in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Dan Harmon led the Lancers with 13 points while Jared Wall scored 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds before fouling out after 15 minutes of action.

All-Time Series... Northwestern holds a 37-14 advantage in the season series, including a 13-0 record over the past six seasons.

Mount Marty News and Notes... The Lancers ended the regular season on a high note, winning two of their final three games and come into tonight's match-up with a 7-22 overall mark. Last time out, Mount Marty scored a season-high 93 points in its 93-88 win over Dana on Feb. 20. They held a seven-point lead at the half (40-33) and held on in the second half by shooting 60% from beyond the arc. Trey Krier led four MMC players in double figures with 26 points, including a season-high seven three-pointers. Stephen Klekas scored 14 points while both Weston Kusser and Dan Harmon netted 13 points each.

Head Coach Jim Thorson and his squad is averaging 61ppg, shooting 41% from the field and 34% from the three-point line. Defensively, the Lancers lead the GPAC in giving up just 68 points per game. They are outrebounded by a +3 margin. Weston Kusser and Justin Peters headline the list of returners after earning honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2008-09. A junior guard, Kusser averages 8.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-best 63 assists. Peters, a senior forward, averages over eight points and three boards per game. Jared  Wall, a 6-9 junior, leads the team in both scoring (9.8) and rebounding (7.1) and also leads the GPAC with 53 blocked shots. Dan Harmon averages 8.9 points per game and Trey Krier leads the team with 50 three-pointers.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern closed the regular season with three losses, all to ranked teams. They were defeated by Hastings on Feb. 13 and last week, dropped a pair of close games to seventh-ranked Dakota Wesleyan (86-88) and 21st-ranked USF (73-74). In Saturday's loss to USF, Northwestern shot 50% from the field (14/28), 55% from beyond the arc, and was led by Ben Miller who registered his second double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Walker Seim scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half while both Ryan Hoogeveen and Daniel Van Kalsbeek netted 12. The Raiders held a 32-25 advantage on the glass, led by Miller and Van Kalsbeek (7). Mike Vorwald dished out four assists.

Coach Korver's squad leads the GPAC in scoring (84.2) and ranks among the league's best in field goal percentage (47%) and rebounding (+3). Daniel Van Kalsbeek averages a team-best 19 points and seven rebounds per game, ranking second and sixth in the league. Walker Seim is sixth in the GPAC in scoring (18) and ranks fourth in the NAIA with 95 three-pointers. Both players have scored in double figures in all but two games this season. Ben Miller averages 12.1 points and over six rebounds per game. Ryan Hoogeveen is the other top scorer for NWC, putting in over nine points per game.

Up Next... The winner of tonight's game will travel to 20th-ranked and second seeded USF on Thursday, Feb. 25 to take on the Cougars in the GPAC quarterfinals.