FULLERTON, Calif. – Vanguard men's basketball attempted to add another check mark to its burgeoning résumé in Tuesday's encounter with No. 13 Northwestern (Iowa), but the hot shooting Red Raiders posted an 86-73 win at Darling Pavilion in the opener of the HIU Holiday Tournament.
The Lions pulled off an impressive 83-80 upset over No. 7 Montana Tech last Friday, and clobbered then-No. 1 College of Idaho by 27 points on November 17.
But a third win against a top 15 opponent was not in the cards as the Red Raiders shot 56.3 percent overall, converting 27 of their 48 field goal attempts. Northwestern also had 19 more free throw attempts than the Lions, shooting 75 (24 of 32) percent overall. VU was 9 of 13 – 69.2 percent – from the charity stripe.
VU shot 39.2 (29 of 74) percent for the game, including tying a season-low 20 (6 of 30) percent from distance.
Bryson Metz scored a team-high 13 points on 6 of 12 shooting to lead the Lions. Preston Sims notched a season-best 11 points to go along with three rebounds and a steal.
Phillip Willis and Anthony Tello provided nine points apiece, while Cam'Ron Wilson had seven points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench.
The Red Raiders owned the battle of the boards, 41-26. The Lions forced Northwestern into 23 turnovers and held a 26-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Northwestern had four players score in double figures, led by a game-high 22 from Zach LaFave. LaFave completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Dillon Carlson just missed a double-double, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Red Raiders improved to 11-1 on the season, while the Lions fell to 7-3.
What Happened?: The two teams battled through five lead changes over the first 11 minutes of the game before the Red Raiders claimed the lead for good. Keyton Moser's layup at the 8:31 mark gave Northwestern a 24-22 lead.
Three consecutive layups from Tello helped VU build a 22-19 lead, but a 10-0 Red Raider spurt saw the Lions suddenly trail 29-22.
Willis and Wilson helped the Lions push within 29-27, but the Red Raiders went on a 7-0 run to lead 36-27 with 3:22 remaining in the first half. Two consecutive threes from Conner Geddes hurt the Lions during that stretch. The Red Raiders maintained their nine-point cushion at 43-34 on a Carlson triple, but Nico Dasca responded with a trey of his own to get VU within 43-37 at halftime.
Northwestern maintained a double-digit lead for a majority of the second half, helped by 19 of 25 shooting at the foul line.
The Red Raiders led by 10 for the first time on another Carlson triple, going up 50-40 at the 17:15 mark. The lead eventually ballooned to 71-54 before the Lions used a 9-0 run to trim the deficit to single digits. Sims sank a three as VU made the score 71-63 with 6:20 on the clock.
But Northwestern scored nine of the next 11 points to reopen a 15-point lead, with two Hunter Berry free throws making the score 80-65 with 3:57 remaining. The Lions were unable to threaten from there as Northwestern settled for the 13-point victory.
Why Is It Important?: Willis, Tello and Larsen – VU's top three scorers – were all held well under their season averages. VU came in averaging 91 points per game.
What's Next?: The Lions take on Viterbo on Wednesday to continue the HIU Holiday Tournament. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.
