ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team (3-2, 2-0 UMAC) competed against the College of St. Scholastica (2-4, 1-1 UMAC) on Saturday afternoon inside the Erickson Center in another Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contest. The Eagles came out on top, as they captured a 76-69 win over the visiting team.

Throughout a competitive first half, UNW and CSS put forth strong attacks on both the offensive and defense end. As the Saints held a lead from the 16:00 mark on, the Eagles kept in the fight as they trailed by four (40-36) at the close of the first 20:00 of play.

Leading the team at the half was Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville), who recorded 10 points, three rebounds, and one assists. Teammate Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) also had a strong showing as he posted seven points, one rebound, one assist, and one block for the Eagles.

UNW caught up to the CSS early in the second, as they pushed a 44-43 lead with 15:50 on the clock.

With a timeout taken by Northwestern at the 11:00 mark – down 53-47 –  the Eagles had a chance to regroup and reset the tempo of the game. Tying the game 51-51 with 8:00 left on the ticker, UNW's efforts to jump ahead were well alive.

As the hard-fought contest came down to the wire, it was the Eagles who came out on top as they secured the 76-69 victory on the day's competition.

Northwestern shot 52.2% from the field, while St. Scholastica finished the mid-day match by shooting 35.8% from the floor.

The game leaders on the match were Gisler (21pts, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), Sprenger (13pts, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), and Caleb Hageman (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) (11pts, 2 rebounds, 2 steal, 1 block).

The purple and gold will be back in action on Wednesday, December 7th, as they host the University of Wisconsin-Stout for a non-conference competition. The game will get under way at 7:00 p.m. Fans can find more information on the men's basketball team by following @unwmbb on Twitter and by visiting www.unweagles.com.