ST. PAUL – Wednesday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's basketball semifinal games proved once again that all bets are off come tournament time. The top-ranked University of Northwestern pulled out a 74-70 overtime victory over fourth-seeded College of St. Scholastica, and No. 2 University of Minnesota Morris beat No. 3 North Central University to setup a 7:30 p.m. championship game between the Eagles and Cougars on Saturday night in Northwestern's Ericksen Center.

Strong first half shooting to the tune of 58.6 percent allowed the Eagles to build a 10-point lead going into the locker room at the 20-minute break. The three-pointers were falling for Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) and Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle), and Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) and Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy) were finding room in the paint. UNW had a seven-point advantage just five minutes into the game, a margin that improved to eight on a successful and-one play by Morrell in traffic. St. Scholastica's Jake Naslund did his best to keep his team in it with a three that put the score at 19-15, but Morrell answered with a bucket, as did another Carney trey. Up 30-26 with 4:48 to go in the first half, Northwestern went on an 8-0 run that boosted UNW's edge to 12. The buffer went as high as 13, but CSS's Jake Dahlman made a downtowner with 13 seconds remaining to make it a 10-point game.

Northwestern looked as though it was going to be able to hold its pace early in the second. Carney was good from long range again, as was Janson in the paint. But Janson's jumper at 15:54 was the Eagles' last field goal for the almost the next six minutes until the junior made another mid-range shot and UNW found itself barely ahead 53-51 as the Saints battled back. No more than four points separated the two teams throughout the rest of regulation as St. Scholastica contained Carney and Northwestern's dribble-drive attack while CSS did enough to stay within range of the Eagles. Janson, who scored nine second half points, made the final basket of regulation for the gold-clad home team to put UNW up by two, but Mike Spoden's put-back dunk with 19 seconds to go knotted the score at 61 and Northwestern wasn't able to get a good shot off as the clock expired.

Despite a packed Ericksen Center crowd, St. Scholastica had to feel good earning an extra five minutes and used that momentum to score first in the overtime period. That's the last time the Saints would own a lead though, as Northwestern's Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) took over on both ends of the court to push the Eagles far enough for a win. Sprenger picked off Andrew Laughlin and converted a fast break layup on the other end to tie it at 63-63, and was fouled on UNW's next trip down the court, sinking both free throws. The makes at the charity stripe continued, with Sprenger, Janson and Carney making the necessary 15-footers in the final minute, even when the Saints were within a basket again at 72-70. Carney was fouled on the ensuing possession though, and his back-to-back makes at the free throw line sealed the Eagles' home court reservation on Saturday against Minnesota Morris.

While Northwestern committed less turnovers than its opponent, St. Scholastica outscored the Eagles in the paint, 44-34. After a hot-shooting first period, UNW certainly cooled off in the second, going just 8-26 with just three points over a seven-minute stretch.

Janson's output yielded him a double-double with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, six of which were offensive. Carney finished with 17 points, with Morrell adding 11 points, seven boards, and six assists compared to one turnover.

Laughlin had 16 and 10 for the Saints, whose season ends at 12-14 overall.

The win, Northwestern's 17th of the season, ties the 2009-2010 Eagles team for a program-best 15 straight victories. UNW would love to notch No. 16 on Saturday, but would enjoy its benefit – a fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament – even more. Minnesota Morris, a team that beat the Rams from North Central by 15 on Wednesday night, stands in the way.