MORRIS, Minn. - For the first time in 31 years, the University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team have secured the title of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Regular Season Co-Champions. The Cougars defeated the University of Wisconsin - Superior to clinch the championship and the #2 seed in the conference tournament. Minnesota Morris men's basketball will host the University of Northwestern in the first round of the UMAC tournament Feb. 26. The game is scheduled for a 7 pm tip-off. 

After a back-and-forth battle in the first few minutes of the game, the Cougars began to pull away from their opponents. The home team's momentum started early, with stifling defense to keep the Yellowjackets at bay. Dom Aguilar thrust Minnesota Morris into a 30-19 double-digit lead with a jumper off a pass from Thomas Tiernan. The Cougars held onto the lead, flirting with a 13-point lead for several minutes. Carvin Fish had a tough finish in the paint to get Minnesota Morris a 15-point lead, but the Yellowjackets cut it down to 50-37 before halftime. 

The Cougars came out of halftime looking to put the game away early with an 11-4 run that featured points from Pal Dak, Gustav Gunderson, Aguilar and Jase Nelson. After Minnesota Morris hit a scoring drought UW-Superior turned up the pressure and brought the game back to within eight. Unwilling to give up, Aguilar knocked down a clutch triple to get the Cougars scoring again with 10 minutes on the clock. It was Minnesota Morris' game from there on out, as the Cougars dominated in a 17-point victory to eliminate UW-Superior from the conference tournament. 

Aguilar had a game-high of 32 points on the night, leading the Cougars to victory while going 6-9 from the three point line and 8-8 from the charity stripe. Dak dropped 14 of his own to aid Minnesota Morris' final score, while Fish and Nelson tallied up 11 and 10 respectively.