Box Score

MORRIS, Minn. -- Already the UMAC regular season champion, the Northwestern College men's basketball team didn't let down on Friday night as the Eagles defeated the University of Minnesota, Morris 80-65.  Senior Eric Garst (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) had another breakout performance for Northwestern, leading the team with 16 points.

The host-Cougars led early in the game before Northwestern mounted a comeback.  Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) hit a 3-pointer with 9:09 left in the first half to give the Eagles a 26-16 lead.  The visitors maintained their advantage down the stretch of the game's initial 20 minutes, and NWC went into the locker room with a 44-35 margin separating the two teams.

Morris couldn't cut the Eagles' lead to anything less than seven points before Northwestern's advantage climbed to 20 points when Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) capped off a steal with a breakaway slam dunk.  By the time the game's final horn sounded, NWC had sealed an 80-65 victory.

Northwestern out-shot its opponent all night, which was evidenced by the 53-42 percent shooting performances.  While the Eagles made seven of their 14 shots from downtown, the Cougars struggled with a dismal 21 percent mark from behind the 3-point arch.  The only statistical category that NWC struggled with was that of turnovers, where the Eagles committed 15 mistakes.  Head coach Tim Grosz will seek a change in that area as Northwestern prepares for next week's UMAC postseason tournament.

Garst turned in a special performance, making four of his six 3-point attempts while dishing out four assists in the process.  Reid Berens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) was right behind his teammate with 15 points on the night, making five of his eight shots.  Tallying five assists and six steals in the game was Lecheler, who chipped in eight points.

For Morris (12-12 overall, 8-5 UMAC), Phil Allen led the Cougars with 19 points.  Eric Dalbey, Allen's fellow 1,000-point scorer, added 11 points.

At 18-6 overall and 12-1 in UMAC play, Northwestern has won 14 straight games, a feat matched only by the 1994-95  team coached by Joe Smith.  A win over Presentation College , who shares the No. 2 spot in the conference standings with Minnesota-Morris, on Saturday afternoon (5 p.m. tip-off) would give the Eagles 15 straight victories and all the momentum in the world as they host a UMAC tournament semifinal game next Thursday evening.  Northwestern still has yet to lose in 2010.