Box Score
What looked to be a yawner turned into a thriller tonight in Kendrigan Gymnasium. The Jacks had a dominant lead in both the first and second half, only to see the Lions of Finlandia University come roaring back to tie the game with a minute to play. However, the Jacks went four for four from the line in the final minute and made a key layup to finish off Finlandia by a final of 83-79.
The game started out pretty even as Northland had a 13-12 lead six minutes into the game. The Jacks then scored the next twelve points over a four minute span as they went 4 of 5 from the field and hit a pair of free throws in the run to grab a 25-12 lead. Joey Brennan (So., Ashland, WI) started things off with a trey and then assisted on the next basket by Zeb Woiak (So., Nekoosa, WI). Ryan Cannata (Jr., Nashwauk, MN) hit a pair of baskets including a triple, and Lloyd Kalfs (So., Okabena, MN) got the free throws. The Jacks continued the pressure in the first half an an 8-0 run gave them their largest lead of the halft at 35-16 with 6:18 to play.
The Jacks led 39-22 with 3:39 to play but the Lions scored the final 9 points of the first half to cut the deficit to eight at halftime. The Jacks were 0-4 from the field during that stretch and had five turnovers to allow Finlandia to creep back into the game in front of a boisterous crowd. "It was good to see our team come out with a lot of energy and build a good lead," said Coach Rob Robinson. "I think we played good defense on their best players, specifically Tyler Gordon. During their run, they had some other players step up and make plays for them.
The second half started off all Jacks again as the started with a 13-4 run over the first four minutes to get the lead back up to 52-35, and still held a 58-43 lead with 13:31 to go. However, the Jacks then went ice cold and were stuck on 58 points for the next four minutes as a 15-0 run by the Lions tied the game up. The Jacks went 0-6 from the field, 0-4 from the line, and had five turnovers during that stretch. "We got sloppy," said Coach Robinson, "and we opened the door for them to come back.
However, the Jacks would answer again and take a 66-59 lead with 8:41 to go. Northland maintained that lead, and still led by six at 77-71 with 3:40 to go but the Lions again found a way to even things up at 77 with 1:35 to go. Northland's Jordan Arneson (Sr., Madison, WI) made two free throws with 1:17 to go and Finlandia missed a wide open three on their next possession. The Jacks then got a layup from Cannata with 39 seconds left, and another missed three gave the Jacks the ball back. A pair of free throws for northalnd and an uncontested layup at the buzzer for Finlandia resulted in the final score and a celebration in the gym for Northland.
"We learned a lot about our team and what we need to do to play better, but I was exciting that we scored 83 points without actually playing up to our potential," said Coach Robinson. Northland outrebounded the Lions 52-33, and shot the ball well, hitting on 28 of 57 field goals (49%) and 8 of 14 three pointers (57%). On the other side, they made only 19 of 35 free throws (54%) and had 34 turnovers. "Those are the areas we found out we need to improve," said Coach Robinson. "Especially taking care of the ball, we cannot have that many turnovers. But considering we did, and still scored 83 points - I was very pleased," he added.
Northland was led by Cannata with 19 points and Brennan with 18. Arneson also hit double digits with eight points and a total of nine players scored four or more points. Zeb Woiak led the team with 10 caroms, and Michael Mackey (So., Holmen, WI) had four assists and three steals to lead the team.
Next up for the Jacks is their first road contest on Friday, November 21 when they travel to Dunbar, WI to face the Northland Baptist Bible College Pioneers. Game time is set for 8:00 pm.