Decorah, IA -- Today, the North Central University (NCU) Men's Basketball team headed south to take on the Luther College (LC) Norse in their third contest of the year. The Rams looked to get back in the win column after suffering a loss to Carleton College in their home opener on Tuesday. Last season, NCU battled Luther in a nailbiting 66-64 loss at home. North Central had their get-back game tonight as the Rams took down the Norse 68-58 on their home court. Senior
Tanner Holtman led the way with 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals.
NCU got rolling early as senior forward,
Nik Feller, dropped a three-pointer off the assist by
Josh Hoffman on the Rams' opening possession. They then would turn around and hit another three off the right hand of sniper
Tanner Holtman. However, North Central got a bit careless with the ball, turning it over three straight offensive trips, allowing the Norse to get right back into things. The Rams full-court defensive pressure started to bother the Norse, as NCU turned defense into offense. However, Luther did not back down as they reduced the deficit to just five at about the halfway point.
Nik Feller continued the hot hand as he knocked in two more from deep towards the end of the first half. Sophomore
Tyler VanEtten checked in late in the first and decided to get in on the action, splashing a three of his own. The three-point shot was key for both squads as NCU shot it at a 55% clip (6-11) and LC shot 40% (4-10). Luther also found success on the offensive glass, collecting 6 offensive rebounds and turning those into 12 second-chance points to hurt the Rams. A last second Norse three made the halftime score 33-28 in favor of North Central.
Nik Feller picked up right where he left off with a three-point bomb to start the second half. With 13:39 to play, Luther connected on a big three-pointer to give the Norse their first lead of the game at 41-40. The lead would trade hands numerous times throughout the rest of the game, 8 total times to be exact.
Tanner Holtman continued to be the catalyst for North Central, scoring inside and out to lead his team down the stretch. After being limited in the first half with fouls,
Malik Siggers got himself rolling midway through the second with 6 points and a pair of steals. The Rams earned their way to the charity stripe in the second half, shooting 13-15 to carry them to a win. North Central pulled away in the final minutes to defeat Luther College 68-58.
Top Performers:
Looking Ahead:
Men's Basketball returns to DowntownU to face off with the Augsburg University Auggies on Wednesday, November 20th, starting at 7:00 PM.
All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on men's basketball and all things NCU Athletics.
