MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team defeated Oak Hills Christian College, 89-65, Saturday afternoon in Morris, Minn.
 
The Cougars improve to 4-6 overall, while the Wolfpack drop to 0-5.
 
Oak Hills started the game with an administrative technical free throw, which they made to go up 1-0 before the opening tip. The Cougars won the jump, and Kaden Pieper knocked down a three to give Minnesota Morris the lead. The Wolfpack tied the game on the other end, but a five-point run from Carvin Fish and Pieper put UMM back in front, where they would remain for the rest of the contest.
 
Matt Thompson extended the lead after completing a three-point play, then pushed it to eight after two more made free throws. Five minutes in, Jang Dak scored his first points of the game after Pieper found him in the paint. LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks IV pushed the lead back to double digits with a three-pointer assisted by Samuel Daho.
 
Late in the half, Jase Nelson sparked an eight-point rally beginning with a three-point play. Fish added a layup, and Pieper capped it off with another three-pointer. Staples-Fairbanks ended the half with a triple—the team's sixth of the period—to make it 47-30 at halftime.
 
To start the second half, both teams traded threes, with Thomas Tiernan connecting from deep. Pieper gave the Cougars their largest lead at 21 with another three and added the team's next points from behind the arc.
 
Oak Hills went on a 10-point run to pull within 12. Fish ended the rally with a layup, and Thompson followed with a three-pointer. Gustav Gunderson pushed the lead back to 20 with a three, and Fish extended it to 26 after completing another three-point play. In the final two minutes, Alexander Munson and Johnny Tong added baskets to help secure the 89-65 victory.
 
Fish led the Cougars with 24 points, while Pieper and Thompson followed with 18 and 13 points, respectively. All of Pieper's points came from beyond the arc. The Cougars made a season-high 13 three-pointers and shot a season-best .481 from deep. UMM also recorded a season-high field-goal percentage at 57.7 percent. Gunderson led UMM with six assists.
 
Defensively, Thompson tallied 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Fish added eight rebounds. UMM finished with six steals, led by Fish with three. Thompson, Staples-Fairbanks, Fish, Munson, and Makhi Winter each recorded a block in the win.
 
The Cougars play their final game of 2025 on Monday as they host Trinity Bible College at 7:15 p.m.