MINNEAPOLIS – Continuing their hot shooting streak, the North Central University men's basketball team beat Martin Luther College Friday night in conference action. The Rams shot .548 from the field, including .533 from three-point range, to top the Knights 95-81.

North Central began its scoring frenzy on a pair of threes from junior Travis Voigt (Green Bay, Wis./Northeastern Lutheran). MLC was only able to pull within three points after five minutes of play before NCU stretched its lead to 23 on .613 shooting throughout the first frame. The Rams hit a flurry of first-half shots from behind the arc, thanks in part to sophomore Jared High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) who went 4-4 and junior Bryce Witzman (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) who went 3-5 from long range. NCU also notched 17 assists in the first 20 minutes and took a 51-30 lead into the locker room.

Both teams traded punches in the opening minutes of the second half, with the Rams holding on to a 20-point lead before Martin Luther resurrected its offense. The Knights went on an 11-3 run followed quickly by a 14-2 run to close the deficit to five with just 4:45 remaining. However, NCU was able to capitalize on late-game free throws from Voigt, junior CJ Lewis (Minneapolis, Minn./University of Wisconsin-River Falls) and senior Isaiah Rustad (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) to close out the Rams' fifth win of the season.

High led North Central with 19 points. Voigt and Witzman both added 11, and Lewis and Rustad dropped in another 10 each. As a team, NCU held the rebounding edge over MLC, 38-35. North Central notched 24 assists compared to Martin Luther's 5, but was dominated in the paint, with the Knights outscoring the Rams 40-24 under the basket.

North Central looks to carry its strong perimeter shooting into Saturday afternoon, when Bethany Lutheran College (8-7, 4-3 UMAC)—who is currently second in the conference in scoring offense, three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made—comes to Clark-Danielson Gymnasium for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.