MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- Men's Basketball led for most of the second half but came up on the short end of a 74-68 score at home on Saturday night. After building a two possession lead against The University of Minnesota-Morris with less than seven minutes left the Rams could not hold on despite not trailing until the final two minutes. The loss came on the same night that Bryce Burkman reached 1000 career points.

North Central (6-8, 0-5) is still in search of its first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference win after the disappointing loss on Saturday. North Central claimed a 23-21 lead with 8:19 remaining in the first half and would not trail again until the closing minutes.

The Rams took a 57-51 lead on a drive from senior Bryce Burkman (Winsted, Minn./Maple Grove) with 9:48 left in the game. That basket gave Burkman 17 points at that point and allowed him to eclipse 1000 points for his NCU career. He was fouled but could not convert the free throw.

Over the rest of the game the Rams and Cougars would trade surges but despite three tied scores the Rams found a way to stay in front until two mintues remained. With the game tied at 68-68, a momentary defensive lapse allowed the Cougars a three pointer that gave them their first lead in over 30 mintues of game time with 1:51 left.

After a couple of good looks for open shots the Rams could not rally back and Morris got out of CLC gym with a hard fought UMAC victory. For the second straight night NCU made more field goals than their opponent (27-21) but Morris was 25-32 from the free throw line while the Rams were just 9-16.

The Rams .466 shooting percentage was better than UMM who fired .420 but the Cougars created more chances with a distinct 37-29 rebound edge. Despite just nine turnovers and 15 assists the Rams were done in by the free throw advantage in what was a very tight game.

Bryce Burkman led all scorers with 22 poitns along with a team high 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Junior Josh High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) and sophomore Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio/Troy Christian) each added 12 points.

Burkman became the 19th player in NCU Men's Hoops history to accomplish the 1000 point scoring feet.

The Rams will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, Iowa) at CLC Gymnasium.