MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -  The North Central University men's basketball team hosted Upper Midwest Athletic Conference foe, Northland College on Wednesday night. With Northland in the hunt for a playoff spot, and NCU looking to play spoiler, the game held high intentions. In a close scoring affair, Northland came out victorious by a score of 75-71. 

Game Vitals

• Northland led for all 40 minutes of the contest. 
• NCU overcame a 17 point deficit in the 2nd half. 
• Northland out shot NCU from the field 48.3 percent (29-for-60) to the NCU 45.2 percent (28-for-62)

Game Recap

• Both teams started the 1^st half sluggish, with both teams committing 4 turnovers a piece in the first 3 minutes of the contest. Northland proved to have the upper hand early in the 1^st half, jumping out to a quick 10-4 lead. The two continued to trade baskets throughout the middle minutes of the 1^st half. A three-point bucket by senior Jared High cut the Northland lead to 4 with 12 minutes remaining. Northland would continue to grow their lead, capitalizing on some NCU turnovers. Using a 8-0 personal run from Jared High NCU cut the Northland lead to 3 with 5:37 remaining in the 1^st half. As the two continued to battle, Northland yet again brought their lead up to 10 with 2:26 remaining in the half. NCU trailed Northland heading into halftime by a score of 44-34. Jared High had 19 points for NCU at the break. Northland came out of the half shooting a blazing 80 percent from the field, including 2 three point buckets. NCU battled back to cut the Northland lead to 5 points with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game. Micah Filer went on a 5-0 personal run to bring the Northland lead down to 3. With a timeout called at 4:46 NCU trailed Northland 70-64. A Micah Filer three cut the Northland lead to 1 with just under 3 minutes left in the contest. Northland held a 72-71 lead with 56.6 seconds left in the game, and managed to bring their lead up to 73-71 with a made free throw. NCU was unable to overcome the lead in the final seconds of the game as they were defeated by a score of 75-71. 

 
Key Performers

• Jared High 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
• Micah Filer 22 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists

 
Next Up

•  The Rams will hit the road and travel to Morris, Minnesota for a UMAC contest with the University of Minnesota Morris. The contest is scheduled for February 9^th and tipoff slated at 4:45 p.m. 

MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Justin Brown at 612-343-3539 or email Jdbrown@northcentral.edu.