HANCOCK, Mich. - North Central men's basketball could not overcome an early deficit and fell to Finlandia University, 83-74, on Monday night on the road. Finlandia jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. While the Rams closed the Lions lead to three points they were never able to overthrow the Lions dominant shooting. Four Rams scored double-figure points and Jared High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) recorded a double-double for his efforts shooting, 14 points, and on the boards, 12 rebounds. Joel Cline (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) also climbed the career leaderboard in total rebounds and now sits at 5th place with 511 rebounds (151 offensive, 360 defensive).

How It Happened

First Half: Finlandia opened the game to a 13-4 run, of which nine points came from 3-point range. After a series of buckets traded off at halfway through the first 20 minutes of play the Lions led 22-9. Isaiah Rustad (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the score to 29-21 in favor of the Lions. The Rams closed out the half with 3-point buckets from Bryce Witzman (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life) and Jack Martin (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) to end the half 41-37, Lions on top. Rustad had nine of his 18 points in the half. High recorded seven rebounds for the Rams.

Second Half: Early in the second half, a jumpshot by Joel Cline brought the game within three points, 47-44. The Lions then held the Rams without a basket for three and a half minutes. Strong free throw shooting and Rams turnovers helped extend Finlandia's lead into the final minutes of play. High scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Rustad scored nine to give him 18 points on the night. North Central's bench scored 27 points compared to Finlandia's 21 bench points.

North Central University men's basketball finished the 2016-17 season with a record of 8-16 and 5-12 against Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) competition. Isaiah Rustad completed his Senior year for the Rams with his strong performance against Finlandia. The Rams have now begun preparation for the 2017-18 season.