ST. PAUL – Leading by three and five points, the University of Northwestern seemingly couldn't get the big shot that it needed to put North Central University away in both teams' Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opener. With less than 30 ticks on the game clock and a mere three seconds on the shot clock, Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) took Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle)'s inbound pass and drained a three-pointer from the corner to make it a two-possession game to finally put the game out of reach in a 75-67 win for the Eagles.

Northwestern led throughout most of the game, but North Central never quit and was almost always within range of the Eagles, taking brief advantages with the occasional three-ball. UNW's early 11-0 lead fizzled as the Rams went on a 14-7 run that was capped by a Josh High long distance make, putting the visitor ahead 21-20. The host-Eagles, wearing their solid gold jerseys, returned the favor, turning a three-point buffer into a 41-27 edge over the final five minutes to go into halftime with a 14-point advantage.

North Central clawed its way back into the game, needing 4:45 to get within two points of the Eagles at 46-44. Northwestern used back-to-back threes from Blake Van Maanen (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) to push the gap back to seven, but the Rams were never out of it. Travis Voigt made the front end of a two-shot foul to put North Central within a bucket at 63-61, and Luke Chafin's free throws again had the Rams within two at 66-64 with 2:53 to play. It got even tighter for the Eagles, who led by a point at the 2:13 mark. Carney answered with a drive in the lane that resulted in a foul and a two-for-two performance at the charity stripe, and Sprenger hit a big 15-foot jumper that pushed the margin back to five. Luke Chafin, who finished with a double-double for North Central, countered with a layup on the other end before Carney's big shot with 16 ticks left. The Rams were forced to foul, and Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School)'s free throws at the end accounted for the 75-67 final score.

Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) started the game with some big plays in the initial minutes, but foul trouble forced the junior to the bench for nearly the rest of the first half. North Central turned Ooms into a non-factor in the second round while Jordan Harrell, the Rams' big man, scored on five of seven opportunities under the hoop in the final 20 minutes, grabbing five rebounds along the way.

Carney and Chafin shared the game-high for scoring with 19 points apiece as North Central finished with a 49 percent shooting rate and Northwestern at 26-of-57 for 45.6 percent. Rebounding too went in favor of the Rams, but UNW committed just seven turnovers while scoring 14 points off of its opponent's mistakes. Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) strung 16 points together, going 8-11 at the free throw line.

The win is Northwestern's second in its last three games, despite the Eagles not having played a game in nearly three weeks. At 3-9 overall (1-0 UMAC), UNW will hit the road next weekend to start its Friday-Saturday league schedule. The Eagles will play at the College of St. Scholastica in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Jan. 16 before facing Northland College at 5 p.m. on the 17th.