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Morris, Minn. – In his best game of the year, Derek Schmidt (East Grand Forks, Minn.) led the Cougars to a 79-72 comeback win over Martin Luther tonight (Feb. 4) on Jim Gremmels Court.
Schmidt finished 8-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the line while grabbing 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. He was joined on the leader board by Tom Barrett (Red Lake, Minn.) who added 14 on the night while going an equally perfect 6-of-6 at the line.
The Cougars (11-9, 7-2 UMAC) overcame a four-point halftime deficit, trailed by as much as 10 in the second half, and didn't take the lead for good until there was less than a minute and a half left when Schmidt broke a 71-all tie with his jumper in the lane.
Six Cougar free throws closed the game, as Morris finished 25-of-31 from the line on the night on their way to their fifth straight win.
Martin Luther (5-13, 4-5 UMAC) shot 50% (14-of-28) from the floor in the first half, which included a blazing 64% (7-of-11) from long range as they controlled the tempo for much of the first 20 minutes.
After Schmidt scored the game's first six points, the Knights responded with a 14-to-4 run to take four-point lead at 14-10 at the 15:21 mark on a jumper from Justin Ethernick. Ethernick paced the Knights with 10 in the first half, but cooled off to finish with just 13 on the night.
Coming out of the break the Cougars closed to within two after an Eric Dalbey (Mora, Minn.) lay-up at the 16:40 mark, but then found themselves looking up at a 10-point deficit when the Knights made it 54-44 at the 13:10 mark.
A Barrett lay-up on the next possession started a maroon and gold surge that ended with a Kyle Bruns (Brandon, Minn.) lay-in at 9:09 that gave the Cougars a three-point lead at 59-56. Just one possession earlier Steve Birman (Duluth, Minn.) gave the Cougars their first lead of the half, which was two of just eight points for Morris' leading scorer.
The Cougars showed their depth tonight, as Birman and Dalbey – their two scoring leaders – were held to a combined 12 points.
Barrett put the Cougars up four at the 7:54 mark, but and 8-to-0 run from the Knights put them quickly back up four at the 6:11 mark. Two Schmidt free throws at 5:02 brought the score back to even at 67-67, before he gave the Cougars the lead for good with his acrobatic score at 1:23.
The win tonight sets up a big match-up tomorrow night as second place Morris hosts 5-3 and third place Bethany Lutheran at 5:00 p.m. With Northwestern winning tonight, the Cougars remain one game back in the league standings, with little room for error as the season winds down.
It will be Senior Day tomorrow when the Vikings visit Jim Gremmels Court, as the Cougars will honor their seniors prior to the game.
