ST. PAUL, Minn — The University of Northwestern men's basketball team held their undefeated Upper Midwest Athletic Conference record due to a 76-62 victory over Martin Luther College Friday night. With 23 points off of free throws and strong shooting in the lane, the Eagles took a solid lead over the Knights in the final minutes of play.

The Knights were the first to put four points on the board, but the UNW responded with six points to take the lead four minutes into the game. With the teams tied at 10 at 15:09, five points from Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) put the Eagles at a 15-12 advantage. Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) with a shot from downtown gave the Eagles an extra push over the nights with just under 12 minutes in the half. MLC's Luke Rothe scored his 11th point of the half with just over eight minutes to go, but Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) responded right after, bringing the Eagles to a 24-21 lead. With a back and forth next couple of minutes, both teams battle to take the lead. Rothe's jumper put the Knights at a slim three points behind Northwestern, as the Eagles led 34-31 going into halftime.

The first two minutes remained scoreless for the teams. Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian)'s fouled three brought the fans to their feet, as he earned four points for the Eagles putting them up 40-33 with 17 minutes on the board. Todd Brassow responded with a jumper for the Knights, his tenth point of the night. The visitors narrowed their deficit to just one point with 12:27 on the board. The Purple and Gold refused to let up with three shots in the paint from Sprenger, Ooms, and Shephard taking the home team to a quick seven point advantage. The Eagles reached a 14 point lead with just under eight minutes left in the game as Martin Luther took a timeout. Northwestern's fire wasn't out yet, as Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) brought the team to a 16 point gain, their best of the half. The Red and Black continued to fight but Northwestern took a comfortable 76-62 victory in the final few minutes of the game.

Northwestern had significant success behind the charity line making 23 points off of free throws. Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) led in points with 21, with one rebound short of a double-double. Morrel (13) and Carney (11) were both double digit players for the home team. Both team struggled behind the arc, with around 18 percent each and around 45 percent for the field goals. Despite their loss, Martin Luther walked away with three top scorers including Luke Rothe (19), Todd Brassow (16), and Michael Paulsen (14).

Northwestern (6-9, 4-0 UMAC) will host Bethany Lutheran College tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. for the annual Hoops Hysteria event at the Ericksen Center. Over 100 UNW prospective students and 90 Bethany Lutheran alumni are expected to attend. If you are unable to attend the festivities tomorrow, tune into unweagles.com/live or follow the live stats at unweagles.com/livestats.