Men's Basketball Downs No. 23 Kentucky Wesleyan 104-87

MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University men's basketball team claimed an impressive 104-87 win over No. 23 Kentucky Wesleyan Sunday afternoon (December 20).

The game was the final contest of 2015 for Northwood. The Timberwolves are now 7-3 overall. Kentucky Wesleyan, who entered the game 4-0 against teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Wayne State, Tiffin, Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech), falls to 9-2.

After a fast start by KWC which saw the Panthers go up 14-5 in less than four minutes to start the game, it was all Northwood the rest of the first half. The Timberwolves went on a 34-9 run over the next 10 minutes, turning a nine point deficit into a 39-23 lead. NU led by as many as 19 prior to halftime before settling for a 53-35 edge at the break. The Timberwolves were extremely efficient offensively in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 54.8 percent from the floor (17-31), 58.3 percent from 3-point range (7-12) and 92.3 percent from the foul line (12-13).

The Timberwolves maintained control throughout the second half, never allowing the Panthers to get any closer than 15 the rest of the way. NU led by as many as 26 points twice in the second half (68-42, 88-62).

For the game, Northwood set a new school record for free throw percentage in a game, finishing 26-27 from the line (96.3 percent). The old record of 95.0 percent (19-20) was set against Lake Erie December 19, 2013.  NU was strong offensively overall, going 54.2 percent (32-59) from the floor and 53.8 percent from 3-point range (14-26). Kentucky Wesleyan ended up at 48.1 percent overall (26-54), 55.6 percent from 3-point range (10-18) and 69.4 percent from the foul line (25-36).

Five Timberwolves finished in double figures in the game, led by senior point guard Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill). He ended up with 21 points, nine assists and three steals. Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) had 20 points in 17 minutes, going 6-8 from the floor, 4-5 from 3-point range and 4-4 from the foul line. Zach Allread (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Jermaine Myers (Ajax, Ontario) each added 16 points, while Nick Spitzley (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo – Westphalia) added 14.

Northwood will return to action January 2 against Ashland. Game time is set for 3 p.m.