The Yellowjacket men's basketball team was in action Saturday afternoon to take on UMAC foe Northwestern. Reeling slightly of late, the Yellowjackets were looking to end the weekend road trip with a victory over the Eagles.
Fate was not on the Yellowjackets side, as the fell to Northwestern by a final score of 87-78.
Things started out well for the Yellowjackets, as they jumped all over the Eagles to take a 10-3 lead at the 16:53 mark on a Brian Lindblom jumper. The Yellowjackets saw that lead grow to 31-18 on a Cade Stackpool jumper with 8:18 remaining in the first half.
It was at this point it started to unravel for the Yellowjackets, as the Eagles went on an 18-7 run over the next six minutes to take a 38-36 lead. The Yellowjackets took the lead back briefly when Zach Schradle hit a 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining in the half, but Northwestern retook the lead on the next possession to go into halftime with a 41-39 lead.
The second half opened up to a back-and-forth affair that saw the Yellowjackets manage to close the gap and retake the lead at 56-54 with 10:26 remaining on a Nate Kalien layup. The Yellowjackets managed to hold onto the lead for the next two minutes, but a turnover by S.J. Koopman led to a Northwestern 3-pointer with 7:53 remaining that put the Eagles up for good.
The Northwestern lead grew to 74-64 with 3:51 remaining and the Yellowjackets were never able to close the gap to less than eight points the rest of the way as they fell on the road to Northwestern.
Schradle led the way for the Yellowjackets, finishing with a game high 31 points and a team high nine rebounds to just miss out on his fourth consecutive double-double.
Kalien had his best game as a Yellowjacket, finishing with 22 points on 9-16 shooting. Montroy Scott finished with 11 points and three assists.
Northwestern was led by Kyle Ooms, who finished with a team leading 29 points and 14 rebounds. Will Gisler scored 15 points for the Eagles, While Michael Carney chipped in 13.
The Yellowjackets shot 44.6% from the field, going 6-14 from beyond the 3-point arc, while hitting 14-15 from the free throw line.
Northwestern shot 47.5% from the field, hitting 6-17 from beyond the 3-point arc, while going 25-31 from the free throw line.
The Yellowjackets finished with 10 turnovers. The Eagles finished with 12.
Next up for the Yellowjackets (7-9, 4-4 UMAC) is a home matchup against Martin Luther College on Friday, January 22. Game time from Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium is set for 5:30 p.m.