Superior, WI -- This evening, the men's basketball team from North Central University (NCU) traveled to Superior, Wisconsin to face the University of Wisconsin Superior (UWS) Yellowjackets for the first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) game of the season. The previous matchup between these two competitors was in last season's UMAC Semifinal Playoff, where the Rams fell just short of the Yellowjackets with a final score of 80-77. Tonight, the Rams went back and forth with the Yellowjackets until the final buzzer. NCU ultimately fell short, falling to UWS 89-87.

Senior captain Cameron Thomas sought to take over early on, scoring the Rams first 6 points to go along with 3 rebounds and a block in the first 3 minutes. However, a fastbreak dunk for the Yellowjackets jump-started a 12-0 run that left the Rams Rams with a 10-point deficit. NCU began to chip away at the lead as Carmello McNeal scored back-to-back buckets. Josh Hoffman contributed a pair of three-pointers to keep the Rams in it offensively. With 4 minutes left in the first half, Mello McNeal gave North Central its first lead since the opening minutes at 33-32. UW-Superior regained the lead as they led 42-39 heading into the break. 

North Central opened the second half on fire with a 12-0 run. The Rams were carried by the three-ball offensively as Tanner Holtman, Carrington McNeal, and Nik Feller all connected from deep. With 8 minutes to play, NCU felt their lead slipping as the Yellowjackets found a rhythm on offense. Superior fought back to take the lead at 82-81 with 3:12 left in the game. On the ensuing possession, Malik Siggers beat his defender to finish at the rim as he did so well all night long. The Yellowjackets eventually took a 4-point lead with just under 2 minutes to play. Clutch buckets from Remy Wedgeworth-Brown and Carrington McNeal would knot things up at 87-87 with a little over a minute to play. After back-to-back empty possessions, NCU fouled UWS, sending a Yellowjacket to the line where they would hit both to go up 89-87 with 5 seconds to play. The Rams opted to go for the tie with a driving layup that fell unsuccessful. Superior walked away with the 89-87 victory. 


Top Performers:

• Carrington McNeal: 14 points
• Remy Wedgeworth-Brown: 12 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds
• Malik Siggers: 12 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds
• Cameron Thomas: 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks

Looking Ahead:

The Rams will continue on the road to face the University of Northwestern (UNW) Eagles in St. Paul. The game is set for this Saturday, January 11th at 3:00 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.