Men's Basketball Picks Up 80-75 Win Over Walsh

OVERVIEW – WALSH

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 80, Walsh Cavaliers 75

RECORDS: Northwood (9-4, 4-2 G-MAC), Walsh (9-2, 3-2 G-MAC)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood men's basketball picks up a hard-fought 80-75 win over Walsh Saturday night (January 3).

GAME STORY

• Northwood led 10-6 in the opening half when the Timberwolves scored 13 of the next 17 points, putting NU on top 23-10 with 8:35 remaining.
• Walsh struggled from the floor in the opening 11:45 of the game, going 3-20 overall from the floor (15.0 percent) and 0-7 from beyond the 3-point line.
• The Cavaliers' offense got going at that point, making seven of their next 11 points to key a 16-5 run that cut the Timberwolves lead down to 38-36 with three minutes remaining in the first half.
• Northwood responded with a run of their own, going on a 10-2 spurt to go up by 10 before settling for a 40-32 lead at the break.
• Walsh made it a one-possession game four times in the opening 10 minutes of the second half but were unable to tie the game at any point in that stretch.
• The Timberwolves posted a 10-0 run to go up 68-56 with 5:30 to go in the game.
• Walsh did not go away, going on a 15-2 run of their own over less than three minutes to take their first lead of the day at 71-70.
• The Cavaliers led 73-70 with just over a minute remaining when Northwood made one final push to earn the win, thanks to Will Young II. He converted a three-point play to tie the game at 73-73.
• After the Cavs took the lead back at 75-70, Young connected on a contested 3-pointer to put Northwood on top 76-75 with under 10 seconds remaining.
• That set up a wild final six seconds of the game, as the two teams combined for four turnovers before the end of the contest. Walsh threw the ball away after the Young triple, which gave the ball back to the Timberwolves.
• After two Young free throws, the Cavaliers dropped the inbound pass. However, Northwood lost the ball out of bounds on the following inbound play, which gave the ball back to Walsh with Northwood on top 78-75.
• Walsh, who only had eight turnovers in the opening 39:54, threw the ball away for their third turnover in five seconds, giving the Timberwolves the win.

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Walsh .408 (31-75), Northwood .429 (24-56)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Walsh .269 (7-26), Northwood .421 (8-19)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Walsh .857 (6-7), Northwood .923 (24-26)
• REBOUNDS: Walsh 35 (17 offensive), Northwood 40 (12 offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Walsh 11/11, Northwood 16/19

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Young: 25 points, 8-16 from the floor, 4-6 from 3-point range, 5-5 from the foul line, five rebounds
• Parker Day: 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, 8-9 from the foul line
• Jamison Eklund: 13 points, four rebounds, 4-5 from the floor, 4-4 from the foul line
• John Sweeney: 11 points, 10 rebounds – first career double-double
• Brayden Szamrej: 11 points, eight assists

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood has already matched their win total from last season, when the Timberwolves ended the year with an 8-19 overall record. They are also one conference win away from matching their league win total from a year ago.
• Northwood has won three straight games all of which have been close. NU's three wins came by a total of nine points (two vs. Thomas More, two vs. Saginaw Valley, five vs. Walsh).

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves host Malone Monday (January 5). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.