ST. PAUL – Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle)'s go-ahead layup with 2.5 seconds remaining gave the University of Northwestern men's basketball team an 82-81 win over Bethany Lutheran College (8-7, 4-3) Friday night inside an electric Ericksen Center. With the win, the Eagles remain perfect in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play (7-0) and move to 10-4 overall on the year.

In a back-and-forth and highly entertaining second half, the Eagles found themselves trailing by one (81-80) with nine seconds to play. Sprenger took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast, finishing at the rim to give UNW the lead before BLC's shot at the buzzer rimmed out.

Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the first half to lead the way for UNW, as the senior finished 8-for-13 from the field in addition to going a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe. Sprenger followed with 17 points after going 7-for-13, while Peter Maring (Harris, Minn./Cambridge Christian) had a strong night on the block, contributing 13 points and eight rebounds.

UNW and BLC were nearly identical from the field, as UNW shot 43.7 percent from the floor, while BLC ended the night hitting 43.5 percent of its shots.

The Eagles will host Martin Luther College Saturday in the annual Hoops Hysteria contest. Tip-off inside the Ericksen Center is set for 5 p.m.