MORRIS, Minn. - The Minnesota Morris men's basketball team fell behind early and, despite getting close, were not able to gain an edge and fell to Northland for the second time this season 84-77 Friday night at Jim Gremmels Court.

Northland came out shooting after the opening tip and drained three 3s in the opening 3+ minutes to take an 11-2 lead on the home-standing Cougars. Later CD Douglas' lay-in trimmed the deficit to 3 at 20-17 and Nick Peterson's 3 later cut the lead to 1 at 33-32. Northland though closed the half on a 15-4 run to take a 48-36 lead into the break.

The Lumberjacks continued to lead by double-digits for most of the second half before the Cougars made their push in the final five minutes. Back-to-back layups from Douglas made it 75-71 Northland. Later a Douglas 3-point play made it 77-75 with 2:16 remaining. NC's Rijo Jackson followed with a key 3, then another big lay-in to cinch the Lumberjacks seven-point victory.

Douglas missed just two shots from the floor on his way to 22 points. Tyler Ukkelberg had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Anthony Fisher totaled 13 points and grabbed eight boards.

Minnesota Morris (8-8, 4-5 in UMAC) looks to get back in the win column Saturday when they host Finlandia at 3 p.m.