Dubuque, IA — This evening the NCCAA Men's Basketball North Region tournament came to a close with North Central University (NCU) taking on its rival in Crown College (CC). These teams split their regular season series with each team earning a victory on their respective home floor. In this neutral site contest that could have very well gone either way, the Rams would suffer an agonizing 61-60 loss that would end their hopes of a national tournament appearance. 

Potentially fatigued from back-to-back games the previous days leading up to this championship game, both teams would struggle to find the back of the net early. Nonetheless, it was apparent this matchup would be a dog fight with the score knotted up at 9-9 with 13:24 to go. Crown would start to get in a rhythm with their inside-out style of attack, and would go on a demoralizing 16-0 run over the course of the following 5 minutes. A pair of three-pointers from Micah Filer and Carrington McNeal in the final 2 minutes of play would help reduce this spread. After only shooting 34.8% from the field in the first 20 minutes, North Central would only trail 
33-23 going into the break.

Needing a spark to take control of this game, NCU forward Caden Freetly would step up scoring 9 points in the opening 5 minutes of the second half to reduce the deficit to just 4 points. The Polars would struggle from deep going only 1-8 in the second half, but the Rams were able to improve their scoring efficiency by shooting 59.3% from the floor. Timely buckets from Filer would keep the Blue and Gold within striking distance with 12 minutes to play. It wasn't until 4:24 left to play, that a made jumper from Filer would put the Rams up 1 point, giving them their first lead of the game. With the clock ticking in the final 2 minutes of the game, Crown forward Jacob Masek would hit a huge 3-pointer to put the Polars up by 1 point. North Central would call a timeout with 15 seconds left and the championship game on the line. Out of the timeout, the Rams would have an opportunity to take the lead, but would be unsuccessful on a last-second attempt at the rim. Crown College would advance to the national tournament with a mere 61-60 victory. 

North Central Men's Basketball finishes the season with a 17-11 overall record.

Top Performers:

• Micah Filer (Sacramento, CA): 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists
• Caden Freetly (Farmington, MN): 13 points and 7 rebounds
• Cameron Thomas (Aurora, CO): 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists

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