Saint Paul, MN — North Central University (NCU) traveled to the University of Northwestern (UNW) Saturday afternoon for their first meeting of the season. It was a strong battle by both squads, but it was the Rams that were able to pull out the win. The final score of the match would finish at 64-54.

To begin the game, both teams were trading buckets back and forth. Through the first 10 minutes of the contest, it was a one score game until the Blue and Gold was able to build an 12 point lead at 29-17 with just over six minutes remaining in the half. UNW would not go away easily however as they were able to claw their way back to just a 4 point deficit with two minutes to go before the break. The only bucket for the remainder was a big three pointer from Tanner Holtman (Aurora, CO) to extend the lead back to 7 as the buzzer sounded.

Out of the break, NCU was able to build the lead back up to 13. Once again, the Eagles would not go away as they would go on an 8-0 run of their own to make it a 5 point game. Both teams continued to fight hard for the next few minutes, trying to find some momentum to take over the game. With just over three minutes left, UNW only trailed by 3. The Rams defense would stand tall in the final minutes as the Eagles would not score again for the remainder of the game. Holman would come back to hit another big 3 at the end of the half to make it a 6 point game. After some more free throws for the Rams, the score would sit at 64-54 at the buzzer.
 

Top Performers:
 

Micah Filer (Sacramento, CA): 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal

Cameron Thomas (Aurora, CO): 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals

Tanner Holtman (Aurora, CO): 12 points and 4 rebounds

Looking Ahead:
 

Next time out, the Rams will take on Bethany Lutheran at home on Jan 13th at 5:30 PM.

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Click here to see game stats.