MANKATO, Minn.-- North Central University Men's Basketball was eliminated from the Upper Midweset Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday night. The Rams were defeated 83-67 by Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato in the conference post-season tournament semi-final.

North Central (15-11, 9-5) fell behind midway through the first half and struggled to keep the game within striking distance the rest of the way after finding themselves down 21-10 with over 11 minutes to go in the opening half. NCU shot just 21 percent (6-27) from the floor while the Vikings fired on all cylinders going 15-28 (.536) in the first twenty minutes. BLC led 38-17 at the halftime interval.

The Rams made a good effort to hang in during the second half, eventually cutting a lead that was as big as 23 with 8:55 remaining down to 67-55 a little more than three minutes later. But that would be as close as NCU could get over the rest of the game.

Senior Nathan Roeder (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) equaled a game high 21 points along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Junior Jordan Harrell (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) notched a double-double for the second straight game with 16 points and a game high 11 rebounds. Harrell has scored in double figures in seven straight games and 10 of the last 11 games overall.

Sophomore Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio/Troy Christian) added 11 points with junior Ben Peters (Faribault, Minn./Bethany Academy) scoring 10 points.

The Rams will be back in action on Friday when they take part in the NCCAA Divison II Regional Tournament. NCU is the host for that event and will open play as the top seed in the men's tournament. They will take on fourth seed Providence College (Otterburne, Manitoba) on Friday at 8 p.m.

With a win versus Providence the Rams would earn a spot in the regional championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. The NCCAA region champion earns an automatic bid in the NCCAA Division II National Championship Tournament on March 5-10 in Springfield, Mo.