STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Playing in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third straight year, the Northwestern College (Minn.) men's basketball team came out ready to play in their first round game against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, but a strong second half by the Pointers gave the home team a 71-54 victory. The Eagles rushed out to an early 16-6 advantage, but Stevens Point went 6-9 from behind the three-point line in the final 20 minutes to end NWC's season with a 21-7 record.

Northwestern's start looked very familiar as each member of the four-person senior class hit a three-pointer in the early goings. Point eventually tied the score at 18-18 as the Pointers, who went 12-1 on their home court in the Quandt Fieldhouse this season, began to find baskets in the lane. Just one point separated the two teams down the stretch of the first half, but a DeVon Jackson put-back at the buzzer gave UW-Stevens Point a three-point, 30-27, lead at the break.

The three-point deficit wasn't a big deal for Northwestern, who had won 11 of its 21 games this season in comeback fashion, but Point started the second period with five straight free throws. Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson)answered with the Eagles' first field goal of the half before pairing with Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) on a pair of threes, but things were about to get troublesome for the visitors. Jordan Giordana, who entered the game averaging 6.5 points per game, made three straight three-pointers to wake up the home crowd of 2,102 fans and give his team a 16-point lead, forcing NWC head coach Tim Grosz to call a timeout. The Eagles were hurting themselves at the same time as the Pointer spree as Northwestern went over five minutes without a basket.

Down by 15, Grosz pulled his seniors – Libby, Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell), Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) and Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) – with 1:30 left on the clock, giving them a deserved ovation from the well-represented Northwestern crowd while conceding the score. Stevens Point's 41 second half points sealed the deal, advancing the Pointers to the NCAA second round in a 71-54 final.

Northwestern finished 18-46 from the floor while going 7-15 from long range. While the Eagles brought down more rebounds than their opponent (33-26), Stevens Point committed just six turnovers on the night compared to 18 for NWC. Playing in what turned out to be his final game in a Northwestern uniform, Gisler led his team with 16 points, going 6-9 overall and 1-2 from behind the three-point arc to finish a career that will easily place him first in school history with more than 48 percent of his long range shots made. Libby added 12 points and four assists, while Chitwood's line read 11 points and six rebounds.

Giordana,Stevens Point's only senior who remains from the Pointers' 2010 national championship team, finished with 22 points, 20 of which came in the second half, to lead all scorers. Jackson added 17 points off the bench for the Pointers (22-5), who made the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in a row.

Northwestern wraps up its season with its third 20-plus win campaign in the last four years with the senior quartet amassing 81 victories to go with their 2010 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I national championship and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Gisler, Chitwood, Westberg and Libby have all played significant minutes since their freshman season, especially throughout the last two seasons, meaning the 2013-2014 Eagles squad will look much different.