The Pioneer men played hard and stuck with one of
the best teams in the country Thursday night against Valley Forge Christian
College in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Northland competed well in the first
half against the Patriots, keeping the game close with a strong 2-3 zone. At
half time, the Pioneers trailed by only 2, 29-31.
The
second half looked good for Northland who started fast and took the lead in the
first few minutes but soon after they went up by two, Valley Forge's Latrell
Alford, who scored 16 points on the night, stole a pass to the wing and dunked
it. A few possessions and another turnover later, the Pioneers were down 8, and
though they made a few runs Northland was down by that much or more for the
rest of the game. The final score was 51-65.
Turnovers
were a problem again for the Pioneers who lost the ball 23 times in a hostile
gym nicknamed "The Pit." Senior Seth Quirey was held to 12 points and
point guard Zach Mercado had 8. Freshman Kyler Gardner scored another double-double
with 22 points and 11 rebounds.