MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team is fighting for a conference title as it plays its final two Upper Midwest Athletic Conference games on the road. Action begins Wednesday as the Cougars travel to Bethany Lutheran College for a 7:15 p.m. game, followed by a 4:45 p.m. tip at the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday.
 
The streams can be found on the UMAC Sports Network or by clicking here. To follow the live stats of UMM at BLC click here and to follow the live stats of UMM at UWS click here.
 
The Cougars clinched a playoff spot last week after defeating Martin Luther College. They are currently tied with North Central University for first place. A win on Wednesday would secure a home playoff game, and if they win out, UMM will at least share a bid of the conference title.
 
Last week, the Cougars went 1-1, falling to North Central 89-78 before defeating Martin Luther 88-72. Against NCU, Carvin Fish had a team-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Kaden Pieper and Thomas Tiernan followed with 16 and 12 points, respectively. In the win over MLC, five Cougars reached double figures, with Fish scoring a team-leading 22 points. Pieper added 11 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double.
 
The Cougars rank second in the UMAC, averaging 79.9 points per game, with three players in the top 10 in scoring. Fish leads the team with 470 total points (20.4 per game), ranking third in the conference. Pieper is fifth, and Thompson ranks 10th with 406 and 313 points, respectively. Tiernan, LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks IV, and Gustav Gunderson have all surpassed 100 points this season. Gunderson ranks third in the conference in assists with 89.
 
Defensively, Minnesota Morris leads the conference with 40.3 rebounds per game. Thompson ranks fourth in the UMAC with 168 rebounds (8.0 per game), while Fish and Pieper rank sixth and eighth, respectively. The Cougars are second in the conference in blocked shots, with Fish totaling 25 and Thompson adding 13.
 
Bethany Lutheran sits third in the UMAC with a 6-4 conference record and is 13-10 overall. The Vikings went 2-0 last week, defeating the University of Northwestern 95-90 and UW-Superior 82-65. Head coach Pat Garvin is in his sixth season at BLC. Max Briggs is the team's leading scorer, as the Vikings lead the UMAC in scoring at 80.2 points per game. Defensively, Jack Brockmann has a team-high 173 rebounds.
 
The last time these two teams met, BLC won 107-105 in double overtime. The Cougars trailed by 17 in the second half but rallied to tie the game. Briain LaRoche Jr. had a career performance with 32 points, including a 9-for-12 effort from behind the arc.
 
UW-Superior is seventh in the conference at 2-8 in UMAC play and 6-17 overall. The Yellowjackets fell in their only game last week, 82-65, against Bethany Lutheran. Greg Polkowski is in his ninth season as head coach at UWS. Evan Bennett leads the team with 271 points, while six other players have surpassed 100 points this season.
 
Earlier this season, the Cougars edged the Yellowjackets 80-78. Minnesota Morris held a six-point lead at halftime, but UWS made it close late. Fish led the team with 27 points, and Thompson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.