NU's Jordan Call tied for game high honors with 22 points tonight.
Western Washington Barely Gets By Northwest
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington's John Allen's jumper with 1:12 to go, broke a 71-71 tie as the NCAA Division II Vikings would hold on to edge the Northwest University Eagles, 78-74, in an exhibition contest for NU tonight in Bellingham.
Western would score five straight points to go up 76-71 with 39 seconds to go, but NU's Jordan Call would hit a free throw to complete a three point play to pull NU to within two, 76-74 with 27 seconds on the clock. Forced to foul, the Eagle would send Paul Jones to the free throw line with 7 ticks on the clock and he would calmly make both free throws to put the game away for WWU.
In the first half, Jason Waltman's jumper would put Northwest up 14-8 at the 15:26 mark, but WWU would go on a 6-0 run capped off by Rory Blanche's layup with 12:05 remaining. Alter three ties and four lead changes, Western Washington would take a 33-26 lead on Paul Jones' 3-pointer, but the Eagles would battle back to trail by one, 35-34, on Jordan Call's trey. Jason Waltman's layup in the paint off a nifty assist from Call would give NU the lead, 38-37 with 1:14 until the break. WWU's Rico Wilkins would knock down two free throws after being fouled to give the Vikings back the lead, 39-38, to end the half.
The second half would be as close as the first with three ties and 8 lead changes. Western would capitalize on a few NU miscues as they would score 16 of their points on turnovers. Northwest took a 71-69 lead with three minutes left, but WWU tied the game on a Richard Woodworth's put back with 1:58 to go. Then came Allen's heroics at the 1:12 mark.
Senior Jordan Call led Northwest (8-0) with 22 points while shooting 47% for the night. Ahmaad Cook added 16 points and handed out 7 assists while teammate Rich Skillman added 15 points. Jason Waltman led the Eagles with 9 rebounds, but NU lost the rebounding battle, 37-36, to WWU. NU shot 46% as a team, 36% from the 3-point line and 75% from the charity stripe.
Western Washington (7-1) was led by John Allen's 22 points. Teammate Rory Blanche contributed 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while Rico Wilkins and Paul Jones each scored 11 for the Vikings. WWU shot 45% from 2-point range and a cool 27% (6-22) from the 3-point line.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team," commented John Van Dyke. "They came to play tonight without fear and they weren't intimidated by the surroundings and atmosphere. We played a very good Western Washington team toe-to-toe and I think our guys are beginning to believe they can be a very good team. We've been playing Western since I've been at Northwest, and this was our best effort to date."
The Eagles will return to Kirkland and prepare for their conference home opener against in-state rival, Evergreen, next Saturday night in the NU Pavilion.