NEW ULM, Minn.-- North Central rallied late to force overtime and looked like they might steal a key conference road win on Friday. But Martin Luther College got a bucket from a lose ball scramble in the final seconds that sent the Rams to a heart-breaking 69-68 loss.

North Central (7-12, 3-6) largely controlled the first half and took a 39-31 lead into the locker room. The Rams extended their lead to 44-33 over the first three minutes of the second half but then a cold north wind blew through the Rams offense and they managed just two points over the next ten minutes and trailed 55-46 with 9:20 left in the game. During their cold spell the Rams missed six lay-ups and went 0-16 from the floor.

The Rams ironically broke their dry spell when senior Luke Chafin (Dayton, Ohio/Troy Christian) missed a jumper but got his own rebound and layed it in to make it 55-48 with 7:24 remaining. From that point the Rams would chip away and got within 59-58 with 1:49 to go in the game. Martin Luther then got a bucket to push back to a three point difference. The Rams missed on their next shot but senior Jordan Harrell (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) pulled down a rebound. However he was bumped to floor and a travel was called that gave the ball back to MLC just more than 1 minute left.

The Knights ran much of the shot clock down after several NCU fouls and missed a shot with 21 seconds to go that gave the Rams a shot to extend the game. Junior Cody Martin (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) came up clutch with a three pointer with two seconds left that tied it up at 61-61. The lead held and the teams moved to overtime.

Cody Martin kept his momentum going and hit another three pointer, the first basket for either team in the extra time, that gave NCU a 64-61 advantage. The Rams would extend their lead to 66-61 on a lay-up from junior Josh High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) on the next NCU posession.

North Central got a stop on defense their following trip but turned the ball over on the other end and the Knights converted an old-fashioned three point play to trim the difference to 66-64 with 2:10 left. It looked postitive quickly on the next trip for the Rams as they got a wide open lay-up but it rimmed out and kept the Knights alive.

The Rams missed a chance to extend their lead after a defensive stop and the Knights were able to tie the game 66-66 on a pair of free throws with 1:02 left. Once again it looked like Cody Martin would be the hero when he got a leaner off the window to fall that gave NCU a 68-66 lead with just 36 seconds left. However, North Central would be whistled for a foul with 10 seconds left.

Martin Luther got the first free throw to fall but missed the second attempt. Several Rams had a good chance to pull down the rebound but were knocked off the ball in a scramble on the floor. The ball ended up in the hands of a MLC player who fired up a shot that rolled around and fell through with three seconds left and it would prove the game winner.

Cody Martin led all players with 17 points on the night on the strength of 5-7 three point shooting. Sophomore Isaiah Rustad (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) added 13 points on a perfect 5-5 from the floor. Luke Chafin scored 11 points while Josh High added 10. Jordan Harrell did not score in a game for first time this season but did pull down a game high 14 rebounds.

North Central will need to summon their strength and bounce back quickly. The Rams will be at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn.) for a 5 p.m. tilt with the Vikings. The game is being featured as the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference game of the week and is likely an elimination game for both teams as they compete for a spot in the post season conference tournament.