Spartans Win Showdown with Northwestern
Nov 16, 2013 | J.Crane
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA - The University of Dubuque Men's Basketball team won a matchup of 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament qualifers on Saturday night. The Spartans won 85-81 over Northwestern-St. Paul in the final game of the Northwestern/ACR Homes Tip-Off Classic. UD shot 60.8% from the field and 63.6% from beyond the arc in the victory. Dubuque is 2-0 on the year.
The Spartans were led offensively by Andre Norris (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) with 24 points and Chris Frazier (Heidelberg, Germany/Heidelberg) with 23 points. Norris shot 9-13 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line. Frazier was red hot shooting 5-7 from beyond the arc and 8-12 in total field goals.
The first half featured 11 lead changes and three tied game situations as UD led 49-46 at the break. The Spartans battled back from a seven point deficet with five minutes left using a 17-7 run to take a three point lead into halftime. Frazier made two three-pointers and Brandon Ferguson (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) chipped in five points during the run. Dubuque held a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
The first 2:30 of the second half was all Norris as he scored seven points as UD opened up a 10 point lead. The Spartans made their first five shots from the field in the second half.
Mitch Michaelis (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) scored 13 points and had a team high three assists and two steals. Michaelis is now at 978 career points as he nears the milestone mark of 1,000 career points. Gage Heffernan (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) came off the bench to score ten points and grab five rebounds.
Northwestern rallied back to tie the game at 64-64 with 9:03 left in the contest. The two squads would stay within two of each other for the next six minutes with five lead changes and four ties during that time. Hefferman would score six points in the last three minutes to lead UD to victory.
UD forced 17 turnovers which led to eight steals. The Spartans continued their hot shooting from the field going 12-20 (60.0%) from the field in the second half.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will play their home opener on Tuesday, November 19th against Monmouth College (1-1). Game time on Jon Davison Court is 7:00 pm.
LIVE Video/Stats available at: UD-Monmouth Men's Basketball
Follow all UD Athletics action on Twitter at: @UDubuqueSports
