Minneapolis, MN -- Wednesday, North Central University (NCU) men's basketball hosted a matchup against the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM) Cougars. In the previous meeting between these two teams, the Rams defeated the Cougars last season with a final score of 79-64. Tonight, the first half would feature a back-and-forth conference battle, but the Rams dominated in the second half as they held Morris to just 19 points and walked away with the commanding 78-56 win. 

NCU started with a bang as Carmello McNeal found his twin brother Carrington McNeal for the three-pointer and early lead on their first possession of the game. Tanner Holtman then hit back-to-back threes to fuel NCU's shooting from deep. However, the Cougars had answers as they were able to hold a narrow lead midway through the first half. Junior Elijah Smith gave North Central some solid minutes off the bench with 5 points. Fellow big man, Cameron Thomas made his impact down low with 4 rebounds and a block in the first 20 minutes of action. Neither team was able to pull away as the lead changed hands 8 times, with the largest lead being just 4 points by North Central. In the final 30 seconds of the half, an emphatic and-one finish by McNeal would give the Rams the 40-37 advantage heading into the break.

In the second half, North Central would come out hot and never look back. The Rams opened with a 15-4 run. NCU's stifling defense held the Cougars to 2-19 (10.5%) shooting in the first 11 minutes of the half. Meanwhile, guard Malik Siggers got himself going with 8 second-half points to propel the Rams to their largest lead of the night at 24 points with 7 minutes to play. Down the stretch, Carmello McNeal and Carrington McNeal led NCU offensively to both finish with 19 and 13 points on the evening. When the final buzzer sounded, North Central secured the 78-56 victory to pick up their first UMAC win of the season. 

Top Performers:

• Carmello McNeal: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
• Carrington McNeal: 13 points and 3 assists
• Cameron Thomas: 11 points and 9 rebounds

Looking Ahead:

The men will stay at home to host the Crown College (CC) Polars this Saturday, January 18th at 3:00 PM.

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