ST. PAUL, Minn.-- North Central men's basketball made the short trip to St. Paul on Saturday to take on the University of Northwestern in a match-up featured by the UMAC as the game of the week in league play. The Rams fell behind early and after staying close for much of the opening half, never found a way to consistanly stop the Eagles in an 86-61 loss at the Erickson Center.

North Central (5-11, 3-6 UMAC) came into Saturday's game having won just one of their last four conference games and needing a win to stay in the league playoff conversation. After missing their opening shot, NCU gave up a field goal and would trail the rest of the evening. The Rams would stay close for much of the first half before UNW extended their lead to double-figures and took a 40-27 advantage to the break.

In the final 20 minutes, North Central was able to get within single digits at several places but Northwestern covered every move to take the victory and complete the season sweep over NCU. Senior Joel Cline (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) posted the game's only double-double of 12 points and a game-high 13 boards.

Junior C.J. Lewis (Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington-Kennedy) led NCU with 15 ponts and a game-high 5 assists. Junior Jared High (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) added 14 points. Sophomore Riley Loukinen (Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls) also reached double-figures with 12 points.

North Central will try to regain momentum on Monday when they travel to Faith Baptist Bible College (Ankeny, Iowa). The Rams and Eagles are set for a 6 p.m. tip-off. Live stats and video can be found at www.NCURams.com.