Northwestern clubs Trojans
By Dan Holsworth, Madison Daily Leader Sports Editor

November 9, 2006

(Madison, SD) -  TNorthwestern (2-1) lived up to its No. 11 ranking in the latest NAIA Men's Basketball Poll Tuesday, handing out a 116-68 loss to Dakota State University's Trojans in Madison.

The Red Raiders of Orange City, Iowa, capitalized on their 23-2 scoring run midway in the first half to victory.

DSU (1-1) had its only lead of the ballgame, a 15-14 edge, in the earlier stages of the first half.

Northwestern rolled to a 63-31 lead by halftime and then outscored the Trojans 53-37 in the second half.

"Northwestern has a very good team," said Trojan center Joe Backus, who scored a team-high 17 points. "They shot the
ball extremely well against us, and it certainly showed on the scoreboard."

The Trojans couldn't match the hot shooting of the Red Raiders, who banged in their field goals at a torrid
66-percent, 49-for-74, clip.

Northwestern had five players in double figures, led by Curt Schilling's 21 points.

Brent Dunkelberger chipped in 12 points, Chad Schuiteman had 11 tallies, and Mark De Younge and Josh Van Es each had 10. Karl Towns, Robben Schat and Ben Brown also scored eight points apiece for the winners.

The Trojans, who converted 21 of their 48 field shots, were led by Backus and Bryce Kreutzfeldt, both former Chester
players, with respective 17 and 13 points.

Brett Gardner and Derek Powell also scored eight points apiece for the Trojans.

The Red Raiders had a huge 31-rebound, 45-14, advantage over the Trojans. Karl Towns led the way with 11 rebounds.
Backus had six of the Trojans' 14 rebounds.

"We are going to have to string together more stops on defense, and we're definitely going to have to start
rebounding better," added Backus. "We have a full week of practice to work on those things before playing Augustana
College next Wednesday in Sioux Falls."

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State Sports Information Director