MINNEAPOLIS-- Men's Basketball spent the first half digging a hole before storming back to win a thriller over the University of Minnesota-Morris at home on Friday. After trailing by as many as 22 in the first half, North Central found their rhythm in time to post an 82-80 victory at Clark-Danielson Gymnasium.

North Central (3-4, 2-0 UMAC) posted a Jeckyll and Hyde performance on Friday with two very different versions of themselves on display each half. The first half the Rams shot just .265 (9-34) from the floor and committed 11 turnovers and trailed 43-25 at halftime. The damage could have been worse as Minnesota-Morris shot .615 (16-26) from the floor routinely baffling the Rams defense and scoring easy baskets near the rim. North Central would trail by 22 with 1:43 left in the half before a three pointer from junior Isaiah Rustad (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) cut the difference to the halftime spread. 

In the second half the Rams turned up their intensity on offense and defense. NCU fought back throughout the early stages of the second half and would get within ten at several occasions including with 13:36 left. Freshman Austin Bulthuis (Willmar, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) converted an old-fashioned three point play less than a minute later on an assist from junior Travis Voigt (Green Bay, Wis./N.E.W. Lutheran) that made it 56-49.

By the 10 minute mark the Rams had trimmed the difference all the way back to 58-57 with 8:59 to play on a lay-up from sophomore Joel Cline (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest). UMM would answer back to make it 77-69 with 3:43 remaining and it looked like momentum had swung back to the visitors before NCU made their final decisive run. A pair of steals from Travis Voigt keyed an 8-1 run that got NCU back within 78-77 with just 1:17 remaining.

Both teams missed on their next possession and the Rams ended up with Isaiah Rustad at the free throw line with 42 seconds left where he drained both shots and gave NCU their first lead since the opening moments at 79-78. With NCU up 80-78, Morris missed a pair of free throws and Rustad again, calmly hit another pair at the other end with just seconds remaining to seal the win.

Travis Voigt in his first game back after missing the last four contests with an injury was very influential in the Rams rally. He posted a team high 18 points, 7 assists and 5 steals with just one turnover in 28 minutes of action. 

Senior Cody Martin (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) added 14 points and moved into a tie for 10th on the NCU career assist list with a pair of helpers. Isaiah Rustad added 13 points and 5 rebounds while freshman Jared High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) tallied 11 points despite playing just 21 minutes and fouling out midway through the second half. Joel Cline was the fifth Ram in double figures with 10 points.

North Central will look to start the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference slate 3-0 tomorrow when they host Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.). The Rams and Storm are set for a 3 p.m. tip-off.