MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- The narrative looked uncomfortably familar for the Rams for much of the first 20 minutes on Saturday. One night after falling behind early and having to battle from behind throughout the first half, the Rams changed the ending of their story on Saturday with a strong second half that earned them an 81-60 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference victory over Martin Luther.

North Central returned to its home floor on Saturday after losing a disappointing game with Bethany Lutheran on Friday night. The Rams were never comfortable and shot a poor percentage throughout the game that saw a close battle turn into a double-digit defeat at the hands of the Vikings. Things looked similar in Saturday's first half with NCU trailing for large stretches before the teams went into halftime locked at 35-35.

The Rams went to work to change their fate on Saturday and the momentum was created by a collection of players who stepped up their effort in the second half. Senior big man Jordan Harrell (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) assisted on three of the first four Rams buckets of the half and scored the fourth one himself as part of a 15-4 NCU run over the first 5 minutes. Junior Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio/Troy Christian) scored the final 8 points of that run himself and the Rams led 50-39 with 15:08 left.

Martin Luther would make one more run to get the lead to just 7 points with 13:26 remaining. Luke Chafin canned a three point shot that pushed the margin back to 53-43 and it would never be closer than that the rest of the way.

North Central would lead by as many as 22 with 5 minutes left and would secure an all-important home conference victory over the Knights. The win puts the Rams at 3-2 in UMAC play ahead of next weekend's road games at The University of Minnesota-Morris (Morris, Minn.) and Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.).

Luke Chafin led all scorers with 23 points. Junior Josh High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) added 16 points on 4-8 shooting from the three point area while Jordan Harrell added 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Junior Clarke Mossman (Conrad, Iowa/Marshalltown) scored 10 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

North Central wraps up a three game home stand on Tuesday night when they host Crossroads College (Rochester, Minn.). The Rams and Knights are slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.