MINNEAPOLIS-- North Central took an early lead but Northwestern stormed back to take control of Saturday's match-up. The Eagles pulled away from the Rams for a 93-79 victory in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action.

North Central (11-11, 7-5 UMAC) took a 16-13 lead around the 13:50 mark of the first half before Northwestern (St. Paul, Minn.) found their footing. UNW posted a quick 7-0 surge including a pair of three pointers and they would never trail again in the game.

Eventually Northwestern took a 41-22 lead with 3:28 left in the first half before junior Isaiah Rustad (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) went on a 10-0 run by himself to cut the lead back to single digits. UNW got another pair of buckets to reassert control and took a 45-32 lead to the locker room.

In the second half the Rams made a few pushes but Northwestern covered every run to eventually lead by as many as 25 with 12:04 left in the half. North Central got back within 77-63 with less than 6 minutes remaining but that would be as close as it would get the rest of the way.

KEY SEQUENCE OF THE GAME

North Central had several chances in the first half to stay with Northwestern but the Eagles made their decisive move with around seven minutes left in the first half. After the Rams collected a defensive rebound they had the ball down just 29-22 but were called for an offensive player control foul that gave the Eagles back the ball. 

Northwestern proceded to go on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes and change and never looked back.

KEY PERFORMANCE OF THE GAME

Isaiah Rustad posted a career high 24 points to lead all scorers on the night on an efficient 10-14 shooting from the floor with just one turnover. Senior Cody Martin (Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville) posted 16 points and 6 assists with just 1 turnover in 35 minutes of action at the point guard spot.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• North Central posted more assists (14-9), steals (6-2), blocks (7-2) and out-shot the Eagles (.563 to .485) from the floor
• Northwestern made two more shots (32-30) and pounded the Rams on the glass (43-23)
• Northwestern made more free throws (21) than North Central attempted (13)

UP NEXT

North Central will get back to action next weekend looking to break a four game skid in conference play and stay in the race for a post-season tournament spot. Friday the Rams host Bethany Lutheran College (Mankato, Minn.) in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. Saturday NCU hosts Martin Luther College (New Ulm, Minn.) at 3 p.m.