MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team took on North Central University (2-5, 1-2 UMAC) in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) road contest at the CLC Gymnasium in Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. The competition was won by the Eagles – who notched an 83-72 win over the Rams. With the victory, the team improves to 4-3 on the season and remains undefeated in conference (3-0).

Taking the floor ready for action, both teams battled in a hard-fought match throughout the first 20:00 of play. From the 18:30 mark and on, the Eagles never lost the lead the remainder of the period. In their solid efforts, UNW was able to post 45-35 advantage at the close of the half. Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) led the pack with eight points – shooting 100% from the field (2-2), arch (1-1), and free-throw line (3-3). Teammate Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) followed closely behind Gisler, as he noted seven points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal on the first half.   

Throughout the second, North Central tried their best to fend off Northwestern, but remained unable to gain enough momentum to catch them. With the keys to the game, Gisler posted another 10 points as well as six rebounds, two steals, and one assists to conclude. Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) helped in the action, as he noted nine points and ended with 14 overall.

Gisler's outstanding performance earned him his 1000th career point for the Eagles. The senior guard finished the contest with 18 points – shooting 6-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arch, and 5-5 from the free-throw line.

Clinching the 83-72 victory over the home team, Northwestern finished the mid-day competition with a 47.5 (29-61) shooting percentage from the field – which outshined North Central's 44.4% (24-54) from the floor. The team also finished with a grand total of 36 rebounds, 14 assists, eight steal, and one block.

The game leaders on the day's match were Gisler (18pts, 8 rebounds, 2 assists), Morrell (14pts, 3 assists, 2 rebounds), Sprenger (12pts, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), Aaron Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) (12pts, 2 rebounds, 1 assist), and Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) (10pts, 4 rebounds).

The purple and gold will be back in action on Friday, December 16th, as the squad travels to Finlandia University for another conference contest. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. For more information, fans can visit unweagles.com or follow @unwmbb on Twitter.