St. Paul – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team suffered a 76-72 setback against visiting North Central University (5-6, 4-0) Saturday afternoon inside the Ericksen Center. The Eagles, who had their 17-game Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) winning streak and 15-game home winning streak snapped with the loss, drop to 10-2 and 3-1 in the UMAC. 

After a fast-paced first half, which featured five lead changes, the Rams held a 34-29 advantage over the Eagles. UNW shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes of play, as they finished with a 44 percent shooting percentage from the floor and 45.2 shooting percentage from 3-point land.

A 9-2 NCU run to open the second half extended its lead to 10 (43-33), but the Eagles would slowly chip away, eventually taking a 56-55 lead with 9:06 remaining in the second half. After a back-and-forth final five minutes, the Rams prevailed in the first game of 2016.

Kyle Ooms (Hollandale, MN/Albert Lea High School) finished one rebound shy of a double-double, as the senior poured in a team-high 16 points and grabbed nine boards. Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) finished with 15 points and Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) added 12.

UNW shot 25 percent from long range for the game, while NCU finished shooting 45.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Northwestern will hit the road next weekend for a pair of UMAC games. The Eagles will open the road trip Friday night in Mankato with a 5:30 p.m. contest against Bethany Lutheran.