College men's basketball: Eagles soar while Saints stumble in UMAC tournament title game

Jon Nowacki, Duluth News Tribune, Minn.
·5 min read

Mar. 9—Northwestern men's basketball benchminder Harrison Garner, a California native, came up to Eagles coach Tim Grosz right after the final seconds ticked off Monday night at Reif Gym and summed it up best.

"Coach," Garner said, "I've never cut down a net in my life."

Garner had a basketball net in his hand — the product of the Eagles' 74-61 victory over previously undefeated St. Scholastica in the UMAC tournament title game — almost trembling with the excitement and anticipation that comes with doing something for the first, and perhaps only, time.

Never mind that there were only 53 fans in attendance. The Eagles were celebrating like it was 1999, not the COVID-19 era we're all living in now. Crank up the Prince. (Come to think of it, a Prince tune probably did play at Reif Gym Monday night.)

"It means a lot, and St. Scholastica would say the same thing," said Grosz, in his 21st season coaching the Eagles. "These kids are testing three times a week, waking up early in the morning, they're hoping and praying they don't have a positive test. It's been a really hard year, and that's why they're celebrating so much, because to get to this point, these guys have busted their butts."

Tournament MVP Noah Alm had 24 points and seven rebounds, and junior Kyle Kaemingk added 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead second-seeded Northwestern (13-3).

Nick Carlson had 14 points and Cade Goggle added 11 points for the top-seeded Saints (10-1), who were hoping to end the UMAC era in style as they enter the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next season.

CSS only trailed 34-33 at the half before shooting only 35.5% from the field (11 of 31) and 44.4% from the free-throw line (4 of 9) in the second half.

"It was a combination of a lot of things," CSS coach David Staniger said of the second half. "I don't think I did a great job of game-planning, and they did a great job of guarding. We missed some easy ones, some free throws, then they got the lead and things started snowballing. It just wasn't our night."

Northwestern is as healthy as the Eagles have been all year, and it shows in the results as they've won five straight.

Owen Boerema added 11 points for Northwestern and Caleb Waldeck only had nine but six of those came in the Eagles' decisive 8-0 run early in the second half to put them up by 10. CSS would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Grosz said the teams were evenly matched, and if it were a seven-game series, it would go down to the seventh game.

"I just thought we defended a little harder and a little better, and our energy on the bench was great," Grosz said. "Honestly, before the game we just said, 'Guys, this is a great opportunity.' There's a lot coaches and players never get to do this. I don't care what year it is — COVID, whether it's to go to the (NCAA) DIII tournament or not — I said, 'You've got a chance to win a championship, so you've got to make the most of this because not a lot of teams get this opportunity.'"

Northwestern isn't a big 3-point shooting team — a real anomaly in this day and age. The Eagles went only 2 of 11 from 3-point range Monday compared to CSS' 8 of 25 but what Northwestern might lack outside they make up for inside. The Eagles have some crafty scorers and had 42 points in the paint compared to 30 for the Saints while also holding a 39-28 rebounding advantage.

For Northwestern, it was the Eagles' 12th tournament title and ninth in the past 11 years. They have a gaudy 12-1 record in finals.

"Northwestern just got to the rim, got too many easy buckets," said Carlson, a junior guard from Canyon. "But in the second half, credit to them. They made a bunch of tough shots. The little guy (Waldeck) gave them a boost, and Alm is a great player. Northwestern is known to make tough shots when it matters. Not a whole lot you can do. We just didn't have our offense flowing."

St. Scholastica had its best start in school history and was playing Northwestern for the eighth straight year in the UMAC tournament, including four championship meetings in the last six years.

"Like I told the guys, 'I'm so proud of everything they've done all year.' One game is not going to define who we are, or our season. Northwestern does a great job, and it's so special for us to play each other in the championship game as many times as we have. It says a lot about both programs. It's always going to be an incredible battle and fight."

Northwestern 74, St. Scholastica 61

Northwestern — Owen Boerema 4-6 3-4 11, Kyle Kaemingk 7-15 4-4 18, Henry Fahnbulleh 2-6 2-2 6, Caleb Waldeck 4-9 0-0 9, Noah Alm 9-14, 5-6 24, Johnny Erickson 0-3 0-0 0, Jacob Masek 1-3 0-0 2, Cole Elrod 2-2 0-1 4. Totals 29-58 14-17 74.

St. Scholastica — Jack Silgen 4-12 0-2 8, Cade Goggleye 3-8 3-5 11, Quinn Fischer 3-6 0-0 8, Nick Carlson 4-9, 3-4 14, Isaiah Hendrickson 4-9 0-0 8, Connor Bich 2-4 1-2 6, Jarod Wilken 3-7 0-0 6, Noah Winesett 0-1 0-0 0, Craig Burger 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 7-13 61.

Halftime — Northwestern 40, CSS 28. 3-point goals — Northwestern 2-11 (Kaemingk 0-3, Waldeck 1-4, Alm 1-3, Erickson 0-1), CSS 8-25 (Silgen 0-4, Goggleye 2-5, Fischer 2-3, Carlson 3-5, Hendrickson 0-2, Bich 1-3, Winesett 0-1, Burger 0-2). Fouls — Northwestern 14, CSS 19. Fouled out — Kaemingk. Rebounds — Northwestern 39 (Kaemingk 11), CSS 28 (Wilken 9). Assists — Northwestern 11 (Fahnbulleh, Waldeck 3), CSS 10 (Carlson 3). Turnovers — Northwestern 9, CSS 8.