Minnesota, Morris 91
North Central University 66

Box Score

With Northwestern having wrapped up first place in the UMAC, the Cougar men stand in second place alone. They drew one step closer to holding that position with a convincing 91-66 win over North Central University in Minneapolis.

The Cougars built a 13 point halftime lead behind an 8-8 shooting night from Phil Allen. Fellow post Derek Schmidt added 24 points, and Zach Meyer pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

“Everything was clicking for us,” said head coach Paul Grove after the game. “We were able get the ball inside with success, but we also pushed the ball very well and got layups. A good all-around night.”

The inside game and layups manifested itself in the Cougars' team massive rebounding advantage (40-16) and shooting percentage (60%).

The Cougars are in second place with a one game advantage over Presentation. They have a big match up with Northwestern this Friday, who defeated UMM 71-62 on January 23. The Saints, meanwhile, play Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the daunting task, Grove is upbeat. “We know if we win both we're in second all by ourselves. We played a great final 20 minutes against Bethany Lutheran [last week], and played another good 40 minutes tonight. It's a great way to go into the weekend.”

On Saturday, the Cougars face Crown College to close the regular season. If the Cougars earn a first round bye, they'll play the following Thursday. If they fall to 3rd or 4th in conference, they'll play on Tuesday against an opponent to be determined.