Courtesy of Midland Athletics
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Midland University traveled to Orange City on a snowy Saturday afternoon to face No. 16 Northwestern College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup. A second-half surge by the Red Raiders forced the Warriors to a tough loss 92-75.
Northwestern opened the game with a 3-pointer, but Butch Lordeus answered with back-to-back baskets as the teams traded scores early, tying the game at 17-17. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jeff Rozelle III and Trey McCain gave the Warriors a 23-17 advantage.
The Red Raiders responded with a 3-pointer and a jumper to cut the deficit to one. Lordeus knocked down a 3-pointer to keep Midland in front, 26-24, but Northwestern answered with a basket and a free throw to retake the lead. McCain connected on a 3-pointer out of a timeout to push Midland ahead once again.
Northwestern closed the half strong, finishing on a 4-0 run to take a 39-38 lead into the locker room.
Lordeus opened the second half with another 3-pointer, but Northwestern quickly responded as the teams exchanged baskets early. After a Midland timeout, the Red Raiders went on an 8-0 run to take a 50-44 lead. Rozelle III and Nick Dolezal answered with back-to-back baskets to cut the margin to two.
Northwestern rebuilt its lead with a 9-2 run and later extended it to double digits following an 8-0 stretch to make it 67-53. Cole Petersen and Lordeus ended the scoring drought for Midland, but the Red Raiders continued to apply pressure, using a 6-0 run to push the lead to 80-64.
Dolezal converted three free throws, but Northwestern responded with a 7-2 run to extend its advantage to 87-69. Three-pointers from Rozelle III and Lordeus sparked a brief Midland push, but the Red Raiders sealed the game at the free-throw line to secure the 92-75 win.
Midland shot 27-of-58 (46.6%) from the field, while Northwestern finished 33-of-62 (53.2%). The Red Raiders connected on 14 3-pointers compared to Midland’s 10 and went a perfect 14-of-14 from the free-throw line. Midland shot 11-of-16 (68.8%) at the line.
Lordeus and Rozelle III led Midland with 22 points each, while Dolezal added 12.
“We had a really good start to the game and made shots early. We had the advantage offensively, especially in the first half. I liked our game plan and what we were doing.
In the second half, it felt like we didn’t have the toughness and energy you need to win on the road against a nationally ranked opponent. They can put a ton of pressure on your defense with an All-American around the rim and shooters all around him.
I liked what we did offensively with some adjustments at halftime and during timeouts, but defensively on the road we have to be better. We have to rebound better, and I felt like there were some loose balls we didn’t get tonight.” commented head coach Tyler Erwin.
Midland (6-6) will travel to Hilo, Hawaii, to face No. 1 Grace (11-0) in a nonconference matchup Tuesday, Dec. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
