Box Score MORRIS, Minn. -- Northwestern College had a nice day from behind the three-point line in an 80-72 victory over the University of Minnesota Morris on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles shot 52 percent from downtown while receiving 28 points from Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) in their fifth straight victory.

Despite trailing only once (7-5) in the game, Northwestern didn't ever get comfortable in the first half. Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) made a jumper to put the Eagles up 22-13 with 9:29 left in the first half, but not two minutes later, a pair of three-pointers brought the Cougars to within three points. Chitwood scored a layup in the paint at 3:13 and the Eagles didn't score again until Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) made a two-point jumper with three seconds left in the half to put the Purple and Gold up 37-31 at the break.

NWC's first double digit lead of the game came not quite eight minutes into the second half, when Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles a 54-43 advantage. The lead got to as much as 12 until Northwestern had to fend off a late Cougars run that cut the margin to four points before Chitwood's free throws solidified the victory at 80-72.

Northwestern went 29-61 for the game (47.5 percent), but it was the Eagles' 12-23 (52 percent) mark from long range that kept Morris at bay. A day after committing a season-low four turnovers at Presentation, Northwestern finished Saturday's game with nine mistakes compared to 14 assists.

Chitwood made 10 of his 18 attempts for 28 points to lead all scorers, followed by an 18-point afternoon from Gisler, who went 4-6 from long range. Both Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) and Gabe Jefferson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) each had a team-best eight rebounds for the Eagles (14-9, 9-3 UMAC).

Derek Schmidt led Morris (9-14, 5-7 UMAC) with 19 points, who shot 48 percent as a team while outscoring the Eagles 34-20 in the paint.

Following the win, the Eagles solidified their spot in the UMAC Tournament, but Northwestern's seed has yet to be set in place. NWC is currently tied for second with the College of St. Scholastica, and a pair of conference games to close out the regular season next weekend will determine who goes where for the postseason. The Eagles will start their final home stand with a 7:30 p.m. bout against Bethany Lutheran College, who claimed the outright conference championship on Saturday.