St. Paul, MN -- Today, the North Central University (NCU) Men's Basketball team faced the Bethel University (BU) Royals in St. Paul to open up the 2024-25 regular season. This would be the first meeting between these two programs since 2008, with Bethel winning the two previous matchups all-time. Today's game would shake up to be a victory for the Rams, with a final score of 87-83. Sophomore guard Carrington McNeal got it done on both ends with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.

The first half started with a Josh Hoffman layup, as the junior transfer scored on his former team. Bethel then got hot from three as they opened up a 17-4 lead over the Rams. Junior Malik Siggers started to take over as he rattled off 6-straight points to cut into the lead. North Central's 10-0 run brought the Rams to within three. NCU continued to attack the paint, scoring 32 points in the first half. On the flip side, the Rams struggled from three as they missed all ten attempts. Bethel worked themselves to the line as they cashed in on 8-10 free throws in the first to grow the lead to twelve with just under 3 minutes to go. The Rams closed out the first half on a 9-0 run to cut the Royals' lead to just three at 44-41.

To start the second half, junior transfer Elijah Smith denied the Bethel shot attempt that led to a fast break bucket on the other end. The Royals responded with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to eight. The Rams continued to hang around as they slowly chipped away at the lead in part to some key three-pointers from Tanner Holtman and Nik Feller. Carrington McNeal was all over the court for NCU with steals and blocks that led to points on the other end. With 11:23 left to play, North Central took their first lead since the opening minute of the game. A steal and fast-break layup from McNeal made it 62-60 in favor of NCU. The teams battled as they traded buckets and the lead. In the final 6 minutes, the McNeal twins took over with 12 points and 2 steals to put North Central out in front. The Rams played good "time and possession" basketball in the final minutes as they held on to the lead and forced Bethel to foul. As the clock hit zero, NCU won 87-83 to kick off the year 1-0. 

 
Top Performers:

• Carrington McNeal: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks
• Tanner Holtman: 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals
• Malik Siggers: 14 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals

Looking Ahead:

The Rams will make their home debut on Tuesday, November 12th as they face the Knights from Carleton College. The game is slated to start at 7:00 PM from Clark Danielson Gymnasium. 

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.