MIDLAND, Mich. – Anthony Barnard (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Purdue Northwest men's basketball team fell to Northwood 74-66.
PNW closes out the regular season with an overall ledger of 7-21 (4-16 GLIAC). It was Northwood's first win in seven all-time matchups between the two teams.
HEAD COACH BOOMER ROBERTS:
"We didn't play at the level we needed to today, which is disappointing. We weren't sharp on either end for certain stretches, and it cost us.
I'm very thankful to have coached Pete Gago and
Jyrus Freels (Evansville, Ind./Francis Joseph Reitz). It's been a fun week acknowledging their impact on our basketball family.
We're not satisfied in the least bit with our performance this year, and we'll see who takes big steps forward this offseason. To get where we want to get, it's going to take a lot of work and growth, and embracing reality as uncomfortable as it may be sometimes. We're excited to see who is truly about that work as we progress as a program. The best is yet to come."
How it happened: The rims at Northwood's E.W. Bennett Sports Center were not friendly for the Pride, as the Black & Gold shot just 25 of 64 from the field and 5 for 24 from long range compared to Northwood's 28 of 49 from the field and 3 for 10 from beyond the arc.
The game was close from the opening tip and saw Northwood hold a four-point lead on several occasions early on, but Barnard's three-pointer tied the score at 19-19 with 9:41 left in the opening half.
Northwood then used a 12-0 run to take a 31-19 lead with 5:18 before halftime.
Caleb Zurliene (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) ended a nearly six-minute PNW scoring drought when he drained a free throw at the 3:56 mark of the first half. Barnard would later knock down a pair a free throws before Zurliene's rebound dunk drew the Pride to within 31-24 with 2:11 left in the opening stanza. Northwood would lead 33-24 at the half.
PNW chipped away at the lead and got as close as 48-47 with 9:01 left in the game, but Northwood used a 19-6 run for the knockout punch the Timberwolves needed to put the game out of reach at 67-53 with just 2:43 remaining.
Zurliene ended the night with 16 points, three rebounds, an assist and the team's lone blocked shot. Barnard's 24 points were just two points shy of his season-best tally when he poured in 26 points on Feb. 16 in a 68-65 win over Northwood.
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For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest Men's Basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWBasketball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
