ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team welcomed St. Scholastica to the Ericksen Center for Saturday night UMAC Championship action. The Eagles, who have faced the Saints in five straight conference tournaments, defeated the UMAC rival once again in electric fashion. In a packed gym with an automatic bid on the line, the teams battled to a 79-79 regulation final. Overtime featured a one-point UNW lead with just four seconds remaining before Brady Peterson (Princeton, Minn./Homeschool) sealed the win on two made free throws. The Eagles earned the hard-fought 92-89 victory and a trip to the NCAA Division III tournament.
 
In a first half that featured lower than average field goal percentages by both teams, the Eagles led by as much as 11 and trailed by as much as two. Through four lead changes and two tied scores, Northwestern was led offensively by Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) and Brady Peterson (Princeton, Minn./Homeschool) who recorded 15 and 12 points respectively in the first 20 minutes.
 
Senior Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) knocked down a baseline three with time expiring to send the Eagles into the half with a four point advantage (42-38).
 
The second half started on a similar trend – a fifth lead change following six straight points from the visiting Saints.
 
The next 20 minutes showcased exhilarating basketball as neither team could hang on to a lead for long. Brady Peterson (Princeton, Minn./Homeschool) took over. The junior drained four of five shots from the field (including three, three-pointers) and six of six free throw attempts to pull the Eagles up and out of any momentary deficit.
 
With 11.8 seconds remaining and a one-point UNW lead, the Saints sent Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) to the line. Alm got one shot to go – extending the lead to two.
 
With time expiring, Scholastica's Collin Anderson launched a three, only to be rebounded by Jarod Wilken for a quick put-back – sending the game to overtime.
 
The match-up continued to heat up in extra minutes and so did Peterson. He was first to score – just nine seconds in to give UNW a two-point edge. The Eagles never trailed, but the Saints didn't let it come easy. Up by four with 15 seconds remaining, Scholastica's Jarod Wilken knocked down a deep three (with four seconds on the clock) to pull within one. Brady Peterson (Princeton, Minn./Homeschool), who was named the UMAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player, knocked down two crucial free throws to seal the win.
 
Peterson finished with a career-best 33 points after draining five three-pointers and 10 of 10 free throw attempts. He pulled down 11 rebounds.
 
Youngberg also recorded a double-double in the overtime win. The junior recorded 17 points (five in overtime) and 11 boards.
 
Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) added 18 points and Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) finished with 10. Michael Moore (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) dished out eight assists on the night.
 
Tonight's win marks Northwestern's eighth postseason title in the last nine years and its 15th straight win this season. This season also marks the 10th time the program has reached the 20-win mark under Head Coach Tim Grosz. The Eagles will find out their first round NCAA Tournament match-up on Monday at 11:30 a.m.. Tune in to the selection show at https://www.ncaa.com/.