Box Score MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The North Central University (NCU) men's basketball team was back in action on their home floor for the first time in over two months on Tuesday night. In a contest where five different Rams managed to score in double-digits, North Central secured the win over the Martin Luther College (MLC) Knights with a buzzer-beating three-point shot by sophomore Barnabas Preble (Roseville, MN, Concordia Academy). This lifted NCU over MLC by a final score of 93-92 and gave them their second win of the season.

Game Recap

It was the blue and gold who managed to jump out to an early lead right from the tip-off and never managed to give it up in the first half. In the first three minutes of play, Tanner Holtman (Aurora, CO, Grandview High School) knocked down a quick three and jumper to help the Rams get out in front 15-4. Halfway through the first half, the Rams built their biggest lead of the game at 37-19 thanks to a couple three-pointers by sophomore guard Seth Fuqua (Colorado Springs, CO, The Vanguard School) and drives to the rim by freshman guard Jonathan Thompson that earned him several trips to the charity strike.

Despite not giving up the lead heading into halftime, the Knights slowly managed to claw their way back into the game in the second half by stopping the Rams on several key possessions. NCU held the lead for over 37 minutes of the entire game, and it was not until late in the second half when MLC managed to take command of the lead at 92-90. On the final possession of the contest with the Rams down two,  Preble managed to steal the ball on the inbound pass from Martin Luther and throw up what would be the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to get North Central back on top and give them the win.

Key Performers

It was a collective effort tonight, as multiple Rams stuffed the stat sheets and made it into double-digit scoring.

• Micah Filer (Sacramento, CA, Capital Christian High School) collected his first double-double of his career with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds.
• The true freshman Tanner Holtman put up a career-high 19 points on an efficient 3-of-4 from behind the arc, while also coming down with 6 boards.
• Jonathan Thompson (Kansas City, MO, Park Hill South High School) tallied 18 points, with eight of those coming from free throws.

Looking Ahead

NCU men's basketball will have a few days off to practice and plan until their next matchup. This Saturday at 3:00 p.m., North Central will clash with the Crown College (CC) Storm in their first official UMAC contest of the season. As a reminder, no fans other than essential game staff personnel will be admitted into the Clark-Danielson Gymnasium due to institutional COVID-19 protocols. A free live stream of the game can be found by navigating to ncurams.com/watch, and live stats can be found by clicking here.