ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sporting a new name, new jerseys and a completely new lineup, the University of Northwestern men's basketball team found success in its first game of the 2013-2014 season with a 100-69 victory over Maranatha Baptist Bible College in the ACR Homes Tip-Off Classic. The Eagles made four of seven three-point attempts in the first half to own a 13-point edge at halftime before finishing with a 31-point win.

Northwestern went with a brand new lineup after returning none of its five starters from a year ago. Head coach Tim Grosz started a combination of two freshmen and three sophomores, but the Eagles had two different lines ready as UNW played 10 guys in the first half.

The Purple and Gold battled Maranatha early as the Crusaders started out hot. The Moses brothers – Tanner and Brady – combined for 23 first half points as the visitors owned a 14-12 lead six minutes into the game. Both teams shot 57 percent in the first half, with Northwestern getting equal offensive production in the lane and from outside shooting. Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy) found success in the paint where most of his 13 first half points came, while Blake Van Maanen (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) started to heat up off the bench with a trio of three-pointers in the first half.

Northwestern's 49-36 halftime lead started to balloon quickly, as consecutive threes from Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) had the Eagles up by 20 less than two minutes into the second period. Carney scored 10 of his 12 points for the game in the final half while UNW needed just 17 minutes out of the sophomore captain throughout the entire game. The Eagles buffer hovered in the 20s down the stretch before Grosz cleared his bench with just under five minutes to go and the Northwestern advantage seeped into 30-point territory for two brief periods as the clock expired.

Not only did everyone in an Eagles uniform get to play, but all 13 players sporting the new gold UNW home jerseys scored too. Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) was one of three players to log 20 minutes in the game as the junior led Northwestern with 17 points on seven of 10 shooting. Van Maanen ended with five treys and 15 points in another bench performance, while Janson wrapped up his night with 15 points and seven rebounds. As a team, the Eagles tallied 29 assists on 38 made baskets, finishing with a 54 percent shooting rate for the night.

After both teams made over half of their shots in the first half, Marantha (0-1) cooled off in Round 2, making just 30 percent of its attempts in the second period to finish at 42.4 percent for the night. Brady Moses scored a game-high 22 points, while Tanner finished with 18 for the Crusaders.

While the Eagles can celebrate a strong start to their 2013 campaign, Northwestern will quickly regroup on Saturday to face a University of Dubuque team that also won on Friday, defeating North Central University (Minn.) 88-70 in the Classic's 4 p.m. game. Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.