MORRIS, Minn. -- The Northwestern College men's basketball team caught the University of Minnesota, Morris on the wrong night as the Cougars' hot hands led them to an 88-74 UMAC victory over the Eagles.  Four players scored in double figures for NWC, but it wasn't enough as the Cougars extended a 43-38 halftime lead to a 14-point final margin.

Northwestern held early leads of five and seven before Minnesota-Morris went on a 15-3 over the course of five minutes to lead 28-23.  The Eagles cut the Cougars' edge to a point on several occasions, including with 1:03 to play in the first half, before the home team led 43-38 at the break.

Morris' advantage ballooned to 10 right out of the gate in the second period and NWC struggled to just contain their opponents' lead to single digits.  After Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) hit a three-pointer to cut the score to 68-60 with 8:25 to play, the Cougars responded with six straight points to lead by 14, which proved to be the final margin between the two teams.

Northwestern made 13 of its 25 attempts in the first half before cooling down a bit in the second period, wrapping up the game with a 27-60 performance (45 percent).  On the other half of the court, Morris was 36-58 overall (62 percent), making seven of its 14 three-point shots.

Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) posted 13 points to lead the Eagles, while Lecheler was 4-8 for 12 points with nine assists.  Nate Thompson (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) and Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) rounded out NWC's top four scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Steve Birman and Derek Schmidt were both 7-11 for Morris for 19 and 16 points.

Northwestern, now 7-6 overall (1-1 UMAC), will head west to face Presentation College on Saturday afternoon.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D.