NEW ULM, Minn.-- North Central used a barage of three pointers to create separation midway through the first half and cruised to an 87-74 win at Martin Luther College on Friday night. The Rams trailed for less than 30 seconds and after tying the game at the 19:30 mark, they would never trail again in the game.

A collection of North Central (6-6, 5-0 UMAC) three point shooters rained down on Martin Luther College in the first half on Friday. North Central was an outstanding 13-17 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes and established a 53-37 advantage at halftime.

Throughout the second half North Central led by at least 12 points and though the Knights fired over .400 from the field on the night, NCU controlled the tempo and finished off the victory. North Central overcame an outstanding 34 point night for Todd Brassow who single-handedly kept the Knights in the game. North Central would push the lead to 83-63 before both teams began playing reserves over the final five minutes.

North Central moved to 5-0 with Friday's win and stay atop the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference standings.

KEY SEQUENCE OF THE GAME

It is rare that the key sequence of the game occurs in the middle of the first half but on Friday a six minute surge of three point shooting created an NCU lead that would never be in doubt the rest of the way. 

During a stretch from around the 14 minute mark the Rams made eight three pointers on the same number of shots and Martin Luther simply had no answer. Seniors Cody Martin (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) and Josh High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) and junior Travis Voigt (Green Bay, Wis/N.E.W. Lutheran) all hit multiple threes. The trio of shooters stretched the Knights defense all night and proved to be difference.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• NCU shot better from behind the three point line (.559, 19-34) than from the field (.517)
• North Central also won the rebounding battle 39-34
• Four Rams reached double figures on Friday: Voigt 25, High 16, Martin 14 and junior Isaiah Rustad (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) came off the bench to add 10
• Rams 13-17 first half three point shooting included: Voigt 6-8, High 4-6 and Martin 3-3
• The teams combined to shoot just 19 free throws, the lowest total in an NCU game this season

KEY PERFORMER OF THE GAME

While the Rams had a group of three point shooters firing on all cylenders on Friday, Travis Voigt put his name among the best in NCU single game history. He finished with 25 points on 8-12 three point shooting along with 5 assists and 2 steals. His eight made three pointers stand as the third most in single game in Rams history.

UP NEXT

The Rams look keep their unbeaten UMAC start in place on Saturday afternoon. The Rams will be in action at Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn.) for a 3 p.m. tip-off.