PLYMOUTH, Wisc. -- Continuing their stretch of road games was the North Central University (NCU) men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon. In a contest that saw the Lakeland University (LU) Muskies dominate the Rams in points off the bench (43 to 16), North Central fell to a 1-4 overall record by a final score of 76-97.

Game Recap

The Rams were in pursuit of their first win of the new year, but were unable to do so thanks to a tough Musky offense that seemed to fire on all cylinders in the second half. Early on North Central managed to control the lead through the first 15 minutes of action. During that stretch, eight different Rams scored, with Micah Filer (Sacramento, CA, Capital Christian High School) setting the pace for the group offensively. It wasn't until the 4:56 mark when Lakeland tied the game up at 32 apiece. Through a few more trades of the lead, the Muskies went into the half with a three point advantage over the Rams, 45-48.

The second half was a much different story for NCU. In the first seven minutes, Lakeland came out and put on a firework display of shooting to go up 70-49 at the 12:24 mark. The second half was fueled for Lakeland by what would end up being an efficient 40 three point percentage. Despite the Huskies taking a strong command of the lead right out of the gate, North Central attempted to get back within striking distance when they cut LU's lead down to 12 at the 5:31 mark. From that point on, the Rams were unable to bring the lead back into single-digits, allowing the Muskies to come away with the win.

Key Performer(s)

• Filer led North Central offensively and put up a season-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, tallied five boards, and dished out five assists.
• Jonathan Thompson (Kansas City, MO, Park Hill South High School) came up big for the Rams and had one of his best performances in his young career. The true freshman guard chipped in 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the blue and gold.

Looking Ahead

NCU men's basketball will continue their stretch of road games in the new year, when they travel to St. Bonifacius, Minn to face the Crown College Storm next Tuesday. Tip-off for the nonconference matchup is slated for 7:00pm. Fans can find live stats of the contest here, and live video here.