Pipers come up short against Northwestern

Hamline (1-2) trailed by as many as 16 in the second half, but cut the lead to 63-62 on a Jon DeRock three-pointer with 7:51 left in the game. After Northwestern (4-0) increased the lead to 70-64, Thrasher kept the Pipers in the game, scoring on three of Hamline’s next four possessions to make the score 74-72 with 4:07 remaining.

The Pipers would have five chances to tie or take the lead, but the Eagles forced Hamline into two turnovers and three missed shots. The Eagles went on to make four straight free throw attempts to ice the game. Junior guard Chris Babcock cut the lead to 76-74 with a layup with three seconds remaining. Eagle Josh Strelecki hit a pair of free throws before Babcock hit a half-court buzzer-beater for the game’s final tally.

Thrasher scored in double figures for the first time of his career while shooting 8 of 15 from the floor. Sophomore Kory Kelzer added 14 points in 5 of 6 shooting. Babcock chipped in 11 points off the bench. Junior Kyle Foster scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Strelecki led all scorers with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting. Daniel Hanson added 13 points while Andrew Cramer added 10 points for the Eagles, who shot 51 percent for the game (31-61).

Northwestern took a 12-0 lead in the first 6:17 of the game, but the Pipers were able to weather the storm and climb back into the game with a 16-6 spurt capped by a pair of Thrasher buckets with 7:42 left in the half. Thrasher had seven points during the spurt.

Hamline will open conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Gustavus. Game time is St. Peter, Minn. is set for 8:00 p.m.