Box Score MORRIS, Minn. – In a back and forth game it was the North Central Rams (9-6, 4-1 UMAC) who came out on top thank to Nathan Roeder's 51 points on the nights as the Cougars (5-9, 2-3 UMAC) fell 99-92. North Central shot 63.6% from the field on the night. The Cougars had four scorers in double figures all with at least 17. Brendon Foss led all Cougars with 19 points and12 rebounds.
 
Ben Hoidal had 17 points off the bench and Logan Orazem and Steve Birman each had 16 points on the night. The Cougars also shot the ball well and hit a season high 13 three pointers on 33 attempts on the evening. Morris' bench came through as they poured in 30 points.
 
It was fast and furious first half that went back and forth, featuring 20 lead changes and six ties. Neither team led by more than three in the opening ten minutes of play. Birman hit a three with 9:28 left in the first half to give the Cougars a five point lead. The lead would grow to six but NCU responded with an 8-0 run to take a 32-30 lead.  Hoidal knocked down a pair of free throws with under a minute to play, giving the Cougars a 43-42 lead at home.
 
Roeder would take over in the second half as he scored 16 points in the opening five minutes of the second half giving NCU a 64-51 lead with 14:47 left. The lead got as large as 16 as Roeder hit another three with 10:30 left. At one point in the second half Roeder scored 14 of the Rams 15 points to take an 85-71 lead. Minnesota Morris responded with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to seven with just under four minutes left. Both teams kept scoring over and over as there were 24 points scored, 12 by each team in the final four minutes. The  Cougars came up short falling 99-92.
 
The Cougars will be back in action Tuesday night at 7:30 as they host Trinity Bible in the P.E. Center.