ST. PAUL, Minn. – In a battle to secure the second seed in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament, the North Central University (NCU) Rams were on the road in this afternoon's matchup against the University of Northwestern (UNW) Eagles. Coming into this competition sitting at 5-1 in the conference following Thursday night's loss to College of St. Scholastica, the Rams managed to force overtime play with Eagles in the final minutes of regulation, but ultimately fell short by a final score of 79-85.
 
Game Recap

The matchup started with a few early runs, the Eagles were able to secure the lead as a result of multiple triples. Shooting at a highly efficient 47.1% from three, the Eagles pulled away even further early on, ending the first half with eight total threes. The Rams held their own from the Eagle runs by shooting efficiently from the field as a collective unit (49.2%). NCU utilized their entire arsenal with four Rams ending the afternoon in double-digits, including Justin Castro (Kissimmee, FL, Gateway High School), who was instrumental in the offensive attacks, netted 23 total points and attacked the rim anytime he saw daylight. The Rams went into halftime down 26-41 as a result of the Eagles' sharpshooters, but North Central responded well to the adversity in the second half.
 
NCU came back with a vengeance in the latter 20 minutes of the game. In a crucial moment when the Rams had just brought the Eagles lead within 10 points, Seth Fuqua (Colorado Springs, CO, The Vanguard School) drilled a three-point shot, bringing the Rams' deficit down to 6. After two massive defensive stops and conversions by Fuqua and Micah Filer (Sacramento, CA, Capital Christian High School), the Rams were able to chip away at the Eagles' lead and pull within two when Castro nailed a momentum-shifting three-pointer. The two teams exchanged leads until Castro was able to add the final points of regulation to the scoreboard with seven seconds left. The Eagles attempted to beat the buzzer on the final play but were unable to, forcing a five-minute overtime.
 
Overtime saw a strong start from the Rams, as Tanner Holtman (Aurora, CO, Grandview High School) made another three to grab secure the period's momentum early on. UNW hit a clutch three halfway into the period, which stole the lead and the Rams' newfound momentum. As the clock continued to wind down, NCU took multiple shots from deep, hoping for one to fall, but they were unable to connect. Battling all the way until overtime's final buzzer, the Rams fell 79-85 in tonight's contest.
 
 Key Performer(s)

• Justin Castro lead the team in scoring tonight with a career-high 23 points, six rebounds, and one assist.
• Seth Fuqua tallied 14 points in the stats column along with two rebounds and seven assists.
• Few rebounds got past Cameron Thomas (Aurora, CO, Grandview High School) this afternoon, as the true freshman ended the night with a double-double consisting of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

 
 Looking Ahead

An additional home conference matchup will be held Monday night against Bethany Lutheran College for the final regular season matchup of the 2020-21 season. After the results of the Monday night contests, UMAC playoff seeds will be finalized.. Make sure you stay tuned to all of our social media channels to receive the latest news on UMAC post-season competition (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). Also, tune into ncurams.com/watch to enjoy a free live video broadcast and statistics of the pitvotal upcoming game between the Rams and Vikings.