MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team kept its UMAC Tournament hopes alive as it topped the North Central Rams, 76-62. The Cougars found success from 3-point range in second half to hold off the Rams.
"Our best defensive effort of the year," head coach
Paul Grove said. "We held a great offensive team to 62 points."
With the win, Minnesota Morris is now 9-14 on the year and 6-8 in conference play, while North Central falls to 5-18 overall and 0-14 in UMAC action.
North Central opened up the game on an 8-0 run over the first 3:16 of play. The Cougars then responded with a 20-4 run to make it 20-12 in favor of Minnesota Morris with 8:39 left in the first half. Heading into halftime, the Rams held a 34-29 lead over the Cougars.
After shooting 4-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, the Cougars shot 9-of-21 from behind the arc in the second half. Minnesota Morris opened up the second half connecting on 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range.
Jack Martin gave the Rams a 52-51 lead on a jumper with 8:05 left in regulation. Following Martin's basket, James Pendleton and Noah Grove hit back-to-back 3-pointers to build the Cougar lead to five points (57-52) with 6:51 left to play.
Micah Filer brought the Rams within two points on a 3-pointer with 3:14 to go, but North Central wouldn't score again down the stretch.
The Cougars are back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Northwestern. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
