Men's Basketball Defeats Illinois-Springfield 79-71

OVERVIEW – ILLINOIS-SPRINGFIELD (UINDY THANKSGIVING CLASSIC)

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 79, Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars 71

RECORDS: Northwood (2-2), Illinois-Springfield (1-3)

LOCATION: Nichoson Hall – Indianapolis, Ind.

RECAP: Men's Basketball picks up a 79-71 win over Illinois-Springfield Tuesday night (November 23).

FIRST HALF

• Northwood set the tone for the half in the opening six minutes of the game, scoring 12 of the first 14 points of the game.
• The Timberwolves opened up their biggest lead of the half at the 9:29 mark, holding a 22-8 advantage.
• NU never trailed on their way to a 41-32 lead at the break.  
• Northwood had a strong opening half shooting the ball, going 15-26 overall (57.1 percent) while making 6-9 from 3-point range (66.7 percent) and 5-6 from the foul line (83.3 percent).
• The Prairie Stars ended the opening 20 minutes at 42.4 percent (14-33) while going 3-14 from beyond the 3-point arc (21.5 percent) and 1-4 from the foul line (25.0 percent).

SECOND HALF

• Illinois-Springfield played well to start the second half and chipped away at the NU lead.
• UIS go the lead down to one on three separate occasions, the last of which was at 66-65.
• The Timberwolves never did give up the lead, however, and finished the game scoring 13 of the final 19 points in the last 3:58 to earn the win.
• Northwood shot 45.5 percent in the second half from the floor (10-22) while going 4-8 from 3-point range.
• Illinois-Springfield got off to a hot start before missing 10 of their final 12 shots to finish the second half at 47.2 percent (17-36). The Prairie Stars went 3-11 from the free throw line.
• The key to the second half for Northwood was the free throw line, where the Timberwolves went 14-15 (93.3 percent) while Illinois-Springfield was just 2-7 (28.6 percent).

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Illinois-Springfield .449 (31-69), Northwood .475 (29-61)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Illinois-Springfield .240 (6-25), Northwood .588 (10-17)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Illinois-Springfield .250 (3-12), Northwood .908 (19-21)
• REBOUNDS: Illinois-Springfield 31 (14 offensive), Northwood 36 (Seven offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Illinois-Springfield 11/7, Northwood 13/16
• POINTS IN THE PAINT: Illinois-Springfield 48, Northwood 22
• POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Illinois-Springfield 20, Northwood 7
• SECOND CHANCE POINTS: Illinois-Springfield 10, Northwood 9
• BENCH POINTS: Illinois-Springfield 15, Northwood 8

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Jack Ammerman: 25 points, 9-14 from the floor, 5-6 from 3-point range
• Trevor Davis: 17 points, 3-5 from 3-point range, 6-6 from the foul line
• Maurion Scott: 16 points, 5-8 from the floor, 6-7 from the foul line, nine rebounds
• Kenneth Ganley Jr.: 13 points

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• With his five 3-point field goals in the game, Ammerman now has 162 for his career. That moves him into 10th on the NU career list, passing Damon Coleman (1994-98) who stood at 159.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves take on event host Indianapolis Wednesday afternoon (November 24). Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.