MORRIS, Minn. – North Central University (NCU) hit the road for the final time in 2019 as they squared up with the Cougars of Minnesota Morris. The Rams came in fresh off a huge Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) win the other evening, but they ran into a wall in the form of the Cougars who were geared up for their first conference victory of the year. NCU started hot, taking an early lead, but once the Cougars jumped ahead, they did not look back. Morris took advantage of self-inflicted wounds by the Rams as NCU coughed it up 17 times and could not keep the Cougars off of the free throw line. Morris found 20 points at the charity stripe en route to pulling away for an 89-78 victory over the Rams.
Game Recap
After a
Riley Loukinen three-pointer the Rams found themselves holding on to a 7-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest. The Cougars were trailing quickly, but did not fold. With the Cougars pushing to take their first lead, the Rams continued to fend off their foe. It wasn't until under the 10 minute mark that the Cougars took their first lead of the contest. Every time Morris appeared poised to go on a run, it was
Micah Filer knocking down a shot to quiet the Cougar crowd.
Seth Fuqua was dialed in early in the contest as well, helping aid the Rams in hanging on to the lead. The freshman torched the Cougars for 12 points in the first 20 minutes with 9 of those coming from beyond the arc. Although the Rams had two of the scorers heating up, they could not find their footing on the defensive end and failed to take care of the ball late in the half. Morris utilized the Ram's mental errors to orchestrate a 14-4 run to close the half and push their lead to 10 at the break.
Micah Filer continued to pace the Rams in the second half, pushing his point total to a game high 29, but the Rams continued to hurt themselves with self-inflicted wounds. NCU finished the contest with 27 total fouls and 17 turnovers. The Cougars connected on 20 of their 30 free throw attempts, compared to the Rams who shot just seven total free throws on the afternoon. With an early second half push, NCU was able to tie the game up at 55-55, however, Minnesota-Morris would not be quieted. The Cougars kept their foot on the gas as they were able to stretch their lead once again and knock off the Rams by a score of 89-78
Key Performer(s)
Looking Ahead
The Rams drop to 1-3 in the conference as they end the 2019 portion of the schedule. The team will regroup with a few weeks of rest as they prepare to play Viterbo University on January 4th. After traveling to Wisconsin to play the Hawks, NCU will jump right back into UMAC play with two huge matchups against Crown College and Bethany Lutheran.
Media: For further information, please contact
Mike Knipe at 612-343-3541 or email mjknipe@northcentral.edu.
