MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team took care of business early on Thursday night, taking a 55-27 halftime lead on Oak Hills Christian College before easing to a 95-69 victory over the Wolfpack. The Cougars improve to 4-4 on the season.

Minnesota Morris had a size advantage inside and immediately fed Kenny Placide for the first two baskets of the game. Pal Dak then jumped a passing lane and went coast-to-coast for a dunk for a 6-0 lead. Jarrett Kujava soon had back-to-back three-pointers and a Gus Gunderson layup made it 16-2. Following a basket from Oak Hills Christian, the Cougars went on another 9-0 run that was capped by a Tarik Iyob triple, increasing the lead to 25-4 after seven minutes.

The Cougar advantage went as high as 32 points in the first half and Kujava's fourth triple of the opening 20 minutes made it 55-25 in the final minute before Minnesota Morris went to the break with a 28-point lead.

As the second half went on, the Minnesota Morris lead grew to 81-41 with nine minutes remaining. The lead hovered in the 30-point range until the end when Oak Hills Christian closed on an 11-0 run in the final three minutes to close the final margin to a 26-point Cougar win.

Placide finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in less than 20 minutes on the floor. Kujava finished with 15 points, Iyob added 13, and Dak had 10. Blake Munson scored seven points and added a game-high seven assists. 

Minnesota Morris begins UMAC action on Dec. 8 with a road game at Northland College starting at 7:15 p.m.