Men's Basketball Drops 82-78 Contest To Saint Joseph's To Open Season

OVERVIEW – ST. JOSEPH'S

SCORE: Saint Joseph's 82, Northwood 78

RECORDS: Northwood (0-1), St. Joseph's (1-0)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood leads by as many as 18 points in the opening half, but a big second half give Saint Joseph's an 82-78 win Friday night (November 11).

FIRST HALF

• Northwood seemed to be out of sync early on in the game, with St. Joseph's earning early leads of 7-0 and 9-3.
• The rest of the half was controlled by Northwood, however, as the Timberwolves opened up a lead as big as 18.
• NU eventually led 46-31 at the break, thank to shooting 50 percent from the floor (18-36). SJC ended up at 39.3 percent (11-28).  Both teams shot well from beyond the arc – St. Joseph's finished at 60 percent (6-10) while Northwood shot 83.8% percent (7-13) to fuel their attack.

SECOND HALF

• The Pumas, like the first half, started hot but sustained the momentum. A 22-9 run to open the second stanza saw them grab their first lead since their hot start in the early stages of the first at 60-59.
• Each team had short bursts to take short leads ever since the 60-59 mark. First, the Timberwolves went up 66-62, only to see the Pumas regain a three-point lead with seven unanswered points. The Timberwolves scored the next six after that and St. Joseph's countered with another six-point run.
• Northwood would take a one-point lead on a Kyle Lamotte three-pointer with 1:30 left at 76-75, only to see the Pumas score seven of the final nine points win the game.
• All told, the Timberwolves struggled in the second half from the field, shooting 37.9% (11-29) overall while making 2-7 from 3-point range. St. Joseph's shot 56.3% in the second half (18-32) overall while knocking down 50% of their shots from behind the arc (4-8). 

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Northwood .446 (29-65), St. Joseph's .483 (29-60)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE : Northwood .450 (9-20), St. Joseph's .556 (10-18)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Northwood .647 (11-17), St. Joseph's .583 (14-24)
• REBOUNDS: Northwood 44 (13 offensive), St. Joseph's 34 (seven offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Northwood 17/17, St. Joseph's 9/10

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Matt Crowl: 19 points, five rebounds, two assists
• Kyle Lamotte: 15 points, four rebounds, one assist, three 3-pointers in first career game
• Brad Schaub: 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks.

UP NEXT

The Timberwolves will continue the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge against Bellarmine Saturday night (November 12). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.