MINNEAPOLIS – A first-half performance that included .564 shooting from the field, 21 rebounds and seven steals propelled North Central University men's basketball to a win over Faith Baptist Bible College on Tuesday night. The Rams saw twelve players score, including four in double-digits, in the 87-51 victory at Clark-Danielson Gymnasium.

Junior Joel Cline (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) scored six of the Rams first 10 points of the game, all within the first three minutes of play. At the 18:00 mark, Faith Baptist (Ankeny, Iowa) knotted the game at 8-8, the final time there would be a tie score in the contest. NCU then went on a 9-0 run, followed immediately by an 8-0 run from the Eagles to pull back within a point. However, the Rams stopped the surge with two quick pairs of layups from Cline and Jack Martin (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park), and North Central went on to outscore Faith 33-9 in the remaining nine minutes of the half.

Although the second half saw fewer scoring runs, FBBC was unable to close in on NCU's lead. In that period alone, the Rams made double the number of field goals as the Eagles on .500 shooting, including .600 (3-5) from three-point range.

Junior Travis Voigt (Green Bay, Wis./Northeastern Lutheran) led all scorers with 16 points. Cline added 14, and the pair also led their team in shooting percentages—.800 for Voigt, who went 4-4 from three-point range, and .778 for Cline, who dropped his seven buckets in just 11 minutes of play. Every player on the Rams roster recorded a rebound, led by Austin Bulthuis (Willmar, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) with five. As a team, NCU grabbed 33 boards compared to 22 from Faith, and dished out a 18 assists—15 more than the Eagles. The Rams shot .535 from the field in the game, including .412 from behind the arc.

North Central (6-11 overall, 3-8 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference) will continue their home streak this weekend as they host Finlandia University (4-14) on Friday night at 7:30 and Northland College (10-10, 7-5 UMAC) on Saturday evening at 5:00.