ST. PAUL – While it was certainly possible, the University of Northwestern men's basketball team wasn't planning on hoisting the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season trophy on Saturday night, but that event did happen as the Eagles defeated the College of St. Scholastica, while second place Minnesota Morris simultaneously lost to Bethany Lutheran to hand the league title to the Eagles outright. Trailing by seven at halftime, Northwestern went on a tear in the second half, making six of 10 three-point attempts down the stretch to win 73-65 and claim the program's third straight league crown and 26th overall.
It was St. Scholastica who was the early leader as the visitor on the scoreboard led by eight before seven minutes had ticked off the clock. CSS's Andrew Laughlin and Zach Dahlman were seemingly making shots at will, including three from outside the arc. UNW battled back, using a
Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) three and a pair of free throws by
Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) to cut the margin to two before the Saints went on another tear thanks to a 9-0 run by the team in yellow. Trailing by 12, Northwestern got a bucket from
Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) in the paint and
Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) drained a bucket from downtown as the first half buzzer sounded to put the Eagles within seven at the break.
The Saints' seven-point buffer remained for a few minutes before Carney went off. The junior's three-pointer at the 16:17 mark sparked an emotional charge with the Eagles' leading scorer making a trio of long range buckets before
Matt Watnemo (Moorhead, Minnesota/Moorhead High School) joined the downtown fun with a three that gave UNW its first lead of the game since 2-0 and forced St. Scholastica head coach David Staniger to call timeout. The Eagles' momentum continued, as what was a 44-37 score in the Saints' favor turned into a 63-53 UNW advantage with 3:57 left in the game. A Dahlman trey put CSS within five with just over a minute to go, but Sprenger and Carney went a combined 4-4 at the free throw line to seal the deal at 73-65.
What was a 39.3 shooting rate in the first half improved to 55.6 in the second as Northwestern finished the game 26-55 overall (47 percent). UNW also turned a page on the boards, out-rebounding the Saints by 11 in the final 20 minutes after CSS grabbed a 19-13 edge off the glass in the initial period.
Carney finished with a game-best 26 points – four shy of his career high – making five three-pointers in 36 minutes. Gisler added 13 points and seven rebounds, while
Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) dished out five assists compared to just one turnover. Between the two teams, only 14 turnovers were committed on the night.
Northwestern, now 14-9 overall and successful on the scoreboard in each of its last 12 games, has cut down 12 UMAC championship nets in the last 15 years. The Eagles have one more round of back-to-back league games next weekend, with the Cougars from Minnesota Morris in town on Friday (7:30 p.m. tipoff) and Crown making the trek to the Ericksen Center from St. Bonifacius, Minn. on Saturday (5 p.m.). Tonight's win also solidified UNW as the top seed in the UMAC Tournament, which will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
