Lakeland/Northwestern (Minn.) Game Notes PDF
Lakeland University Muskies (1-0)
at University of Northwestern (Minn.) Eagles (1-1)
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 6:30 p.m.
Ericksen Center
St. Paul, Minn.
The Lakeland University men's basketball team looks for its second straight win against an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference team to start the season when it travels to face defending UMAC regular season champion University of Northwestern (Minn.) Wednesday night at UNW's Ericksen Center.
Broadcast Information: Live audio/video/statistics are all available to follow along with on Northwestern's website at:
http://www.portal.stretchinternet.com/unw/.
Series history: 11th meeting, Northwestern leads 6-4
This is the eleventh time the Muskies have faced the Eagles, but the first in nearly 60 years. The schools last met Feb. 10, 1962, when Lakeland won by a lopsided score of 145-68 in the teams' final meeting as members of the old Badger-Gopher Conference. The Muskies claimed the last two contests, while the Eagles' last win in the series was a 101-72 victory Feb. 11, 1961. Northwestern, based in Saint Paul, Minn., shouldn't be confused with the former Northwestern College (Wis.) the Muskies regularly competed against for many years until the college merged to become of Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn., in 1995.
Lakeland last time out: Defeated North Central (Minn.) 97-76 Saturday
The Muskies opened their COVID-19 delayed season on Saturday with their first of two straight games against Upper Midwest Athletic Conference schools and won their first-ever matchup with North Central University. Lakeland rallied late in the first half to take a 48-45 halftime lead and blew the game open with a 25-4 run to start the second half. North Central scored ten straight points to get back within 76-63 with 8:29 left, but the Muskies put it away with another 12-3 spurt late. Bench scoring made a big difference as Lakeland's bench outscored North Central's 43-16, led by freshman
Aiden Polzin scoring a game-high 24 points, including 6 of 8 from three-point range in his collegiate debut, and as a team the Muskies made 17 three-pointers while also shooting 48.7% from the field.
Northwestern last time out: Defeated Waldorf (Iowa) 80-67 Dec. 15
The Eagles played twice before the new year, most recently hosting NAIA member Waldorf (Iowa) over a month ago and coming away with a victory. Bench scoring was crucial for Northwestern, too, as the Eagles held a 41-34 lead at halftime after outscoring Waldorf's bench 21-3. The Warriors cut the lead to as close as 67-65 with just under five minutes remaining, but Northwestern went on a 13-2 run to end the game and earn their first win of the season. Johnny Erickson led the Eagles with 19 points, while Henry Fahnbulleh added 16 points with four rebounds and three blocked shots.
About the Eagles: Northwestern is looking for its third straight conference championship this season. The Eagles finished first in the UMAC last season with a 15-1 conference record and a 20-7 overall mark. Northwestern had won 13 straight games entering last year's UMAC Tournament, but the St. Scholastica (Minn.) stunned the Eagles 85-82 in the tourney to end the winning streak. Two starters return from that team, including Noah Alm (17.8 ppg in 2019-20) and Kyle Kaemingk (10.9 ppg). Senior guard Johnny Erickson and freshman forward Henry Fahnbulleh have paced the Eagles' offense so far, averaging 15 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.
New kids in town: After losing three of their five starters from last season, a new-look Muskies team saw newcomers account for 55 of the team's 97 points in the opener. Polzin scored a game-high 24 points in his collegiate debut, while freshman
Cam Jaeger got the starting nod and scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
Earl Lewis, a junior transfer from Madison Area Technical College, also scored 16 points and
Matt Sechman, a transfer from UW-Whitewater, started and grabbed four rebounds in the win.
