ST. PAUL – Luther Vandross's famous rendition of the song "One Shining Moment" can once again ring in the halls of the Ericksen Center after the University of Northwestern's convincing 68-39 victory over the University of Minnesota Morris in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament championship game on Saturday night. The victory, a program-record 16th consecutive for the Eagles, earned UNW its fifth straight trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament with Saturday's title earning the UMAC's automatic qualifier into the big dance, which begins next weekend.

Fortunate to be alive after a 70-74 overtime victory against St. Scholastica on Wednesday, Northwestern came out of the box hot on Saturday, scoring nine of the first 11 nine points of the night and never looking back. Minnesota Morris came back to within a point at 9-8, but the Cougars' spurt caused UNW to respond even greater. Thomas Shephard (Crystal, N.D./Valley-Edinburg) and Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) hit back-to-back three-pointers with Shephard adding an and-one three-point play that put the Eagles ahead by double digits as the game's 10th minute passed. The margin stayed within eight to 12 points before Shephard and Carney again teamed up for consecutive downtowners, followed by a layup in the paint by Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) that sent Northwestern into the locker room with a 38-22 halftime lead.

   

The buffer only went up as the second half began, but it wasn't just explosive offense that put such a large gap between the Eagles and Minnesota Morris; UNW put up a solid defensive front throughout the entire night, be it at the perimeter or on the glass, where the Purple and Gold owned a 16-rebound advantage throughout the 40-minute contest. Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy), who was later named the tournament's most valuable player, improved Northwestern's lead to 20 before three minutes had ticked off the clock in Round 2 with the margin continuing to grow. Carney's sixth three-pointer of the game put UNW's lead at 62-31 with 8:26 to go before the difference maxed out at 33 two minute later. By the time the horn sounded, Northwestern not only owned a 31-point win on the scoreboard, but also a dominating statistical victory: the Eagles committed just four turnovers on the night, dished out 15 assists, and held the Cougars to a mere two offensive rebounds.

While Northwestern's 42.6 percent shooting rate wasn't a season high by any means, it certainly felt as though the majority of the Eagles' attempts were going in. Carney finished the game with 18 points, all on three pointers, with Shephard going 5-6 overall and 3-4 from outside the arc for a 14-point performance in 18 minutes of action. Janson, who had a double-double on Wednesday, finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Neil Helgeson was the lone Cougar to reach double digits, as his 12-point effort led Minnesota Morris, whose season ends at 12-15.

Northwestern, now 18-9 on the year, will wait for Monday's 11:30 a.m. (CT) selection show announcement on NCAA.com to discover who its next opponent will be. In the last four years, three of the Eagles' first round opponents have gone on to win the NCAA national championship. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for more details as they become available.