Minneapolis, MN -- This evening, the North Central University (NCU) men's basketball team returned home to Clark-Danielson Gymnasium to faceoff against the Augsburg University (AU) Auggies, of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). In the last meeting between these two teams, the Rams faced the Auggies in enemy territory in November of 2023, where they fell to Augsburg with a final score of 85-79. Tonight, the Rams overcame a 17-point deficit in the first half to finally take their first lead of the game with 51 seconds to go. This game took two overtime periods to decide a winner, as North Central went on to successfully pull off the comeback win 87-85 in double overtime. Junior
Carrington McNeal had himself a night with 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.
The first half began with a solid defensive start from Augsburg. The Auggies pulled out in front as they opened with hot shooting, but North Central found some success with
Nik Feller's three-pointers and solid play by
Carrington McNeal. Augsburg's defense presence was strong, forcing turnovers which helped extend their lead. The Auggies gained their largest lead of the game at +17 with just under four minutes to go in the first half. The final minutes of the first half saw buckets start to drop, particularly from
Malik Siggers and
Remy Wedgeworth-Brown. North Central trailed 36-27 after a poor shooting first half.
The teams went back and forth early in the second half, keeping the energy high and fans on the edge of their seats. With the Auggie lead teetering double digits, NCU's
Josh Hoffman hit a big three-pointer to pull within six.
Carrington McNeal and
Malik Siggers started to take over with forceful drives to the cup. With less than 10 minutes to go, McNeal went on a 7-point tear, scoring inside and out, to pull within two points of Augsburg. With the Auggies putting up a persistent fight, North Central's
Carrington McNeal played a pivotal role, scoring critical points and eventually making the free throws which gave the Rams the lead in the final minute of regulation. With 35 seconds on the clock, the Auggies made the backend of a double-bonus chance to go up 72-70. The game was forced into overtime, knotted up at 72-72, after a
Carrington McNeal driving layup.
The double overtime saw several lead changes in the closing minutes, with both teams battling hard in the paint. North Central's
Carrington McNeal and
Malik Siggers sustained the Rams offensively in extra minutes. The Auggies cashed in a game-typing last-second shot off the full court inbound pass to force things into a second overtime. Despite Augsburg's strong efforts, they couldn't hold off North Central's fast break offense. In the final moments of the game, the atmosphere was electrified as
Cameron Thomas scored the definitive final free throw to end the game, with the final score ending up 87-85 in favor of NCU.
Top Performers:
Looking Ahead:
The Rams will stay home to compete against the UW-Stevens Point Pointers. The game is set for Friday, November 22nd 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.
