NEW ULM, Minn.-- North Central University Men's Basketball built a double figure lead and then held on late to earn an important road victory over Martin Luther College on Friday night. The Rams grabbed control of the game midway through the second half before the Knights rallied back to make it interesting the final moments. A pair of late free throws from Nathan Roeder sealed the Rams eighth Upper Midwest Athletic Conference victory and gave the senior the all-time NCU scoring record.

North Central (14-8, 8-3) built a 44-34 lead at halftime and seemed to be in control of the game building a lead that got to as many as 17 in the final 20 minutes. But a final push from the Knights trimmed the lead all the way down to three with ten seconds remaining.

NCU built a 64-47 lead on a three point shot from junior Matthew Shepard (Counsil Bluffs, Iowa/Home school) with 13:38 remaining in the game. Martin Luther got the lead down to ten less than six minutes later with the score at 70-60 at 7:18 left.

Eventually the Rams converted enough free throws to earn an 84-78 lead with 13 seconds left. MLC hit a three pointer with 10 seconds left to make it 84-81 but senior Nathan Roeder (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) converted a pair of free throws to seal the final outcome.

With that pair of free throws with eight seconds on the clock Nathan Roeder tied and then surpassed the North Central Men's Basktball all-time career scoring record. He finished the game with 27 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor and 11-12 from the free throw line. He currently stands at 2048 career points with three regular season games remaining.

The new Rams all-time scoring leader was also part of a great team effort. Sophomore Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio/Troy Christian) added 22 points and 6 rebounds. Junior Jordan Harrell (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) notched an important double-double with 13 points and a game high 12 rebounds.

Senior Dylan McKneely (Baton Rouge, La./Broadmoor) added 9 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Junior Ben Peters (Faribault, Minn./Bethany Academy) also scored 9 points.

The Rams are currently in second place in the UMAC standings but face a big test on the road Saturday. NCU will take on third place and defending UMAC post-season tournament champion Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn.) on the road tomorrow night. The Vikings are just one game behind the Rams in the league standings.

NCU defeated Bethany 103-94 at home on January 11.

The Rams and Vikings are scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip-off in Mankato on Saturday.