Minneapolis, Minn-- The North Central University men's basketball team took on the University of Dubuque in their season opening game at the Northwestern Tip-Off Tournament.

The Rams (0-1) lost to the Spartans (Dubuque, Iowa) 88-70.

North Central led 41-40 late in the first half but Dubuque finished on a 5-0 run and carried that momentum into the second half as they never gave up their lead.

The Rams were led by junior Jordan Harrell (Maple Grove, Minn. /Maple Grove) who posted a team-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Sophomore Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio /Troy Christian) recorded 16 points in the contest while leading the team with 8 rebounds. North Central had strong play off the bench from junior Juice Washington (St. Louis, Mo. /Maplewood-Richmond Heights) and junior Josh High (Buffalo, Minn. /Buffalo) as they scored 11 and 10 points respectively.

Dubuque (1-0) won the 2013 Iowa Conference Tournament last season as they earned their fifth trip to the NCAA National Tournament and they are projected to finish first in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season.

North Central continues play at 3pm on Saturday against Maranatha Baptist Bible College (Watertown, Wisc.) at the University of Northwestern Tip-Off Tournament in St. Paul.