ST. PAUL, Minn. – The latest chapter in the jam-packed UMAC Men's Basketball standings story caused just as much chaos as the last, as the University of Minnesota Morris stole a road win at the University of Northwestern to move ahead of the Eagles in the conference race and remain tied for first place. Northwestern (11-10, 6-4 UMAC), who was in sole possession of the top spot on Wednesday morning, now finds itself alone in fifth place after an 0-2 week. Minnesota Morris (10-11, 7-3 UMAC) remains tied for first with three other teams, all of whom picked up Saturday victories. A tough shooting day and a strong second half for the Cougars wound up leading to UNW's demise.
AJ Greene (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) kicked things off with an early three-point play, and a
Soren Anderson (Perham, Minn./Perham) layup a couple minutes later made it 5-0 in favor of the Eagles. Morris got on the board with a three, but
Elijah Burns (Grand Prairie, Texas/Roseville Area) answered right back with a bucket off an offensive rebound. A
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) layup put Northwestern ahead 9-6, but UMM was able to take its first lead of the game at 10-9, just over five minutes in. While it wasn't the quickest of runs, UNW was able to out-pace its opponent 10-3 thanks to five points from Nyamari, four from
Lewis Wolbert (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) and two from
Caden Stevens (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista).
The 20-12 advantage became 24-19 with 3:41 left after four more Nyamari points, then the offense really began to pick up after both teams struggled offensively in the early goings. The Cougars trimmed their deficit to two before the Eagles scored six straight—four by Wolbert and two by Nyamari (all in the paint). Anderson converted an and-one off a euro step with a minute left to make it 33-25, then Nyamari tipped in a Northwestern miss at the horn to give him 15 points in the opening half and put his team ahead, 35-28.
Morris opened the second half with a three but was promptly countered by a
Kelton Vincent (Volga, S.D./Sioux Valley) pull-up jumper. The teams continued to trade buckets as the scoring picked up, including back-to-back scoring trips for UNW, courtesy of Greene and Vincent. The next six Eagle points would come from Stevens jump shots, but the defense was lacking, allowing UMM to take its first lead since early in the first half, 50-47. After a timeout, Wolbert quickly tied it back up with a three, then kept it square on the ensuing possession with a spin move in the lane. Northwestern was able to go back on top, 60-57, after a Burns triple with 8:10 left, but the scales would soon tip back to Minnesota Morris's favor.
Strong inside finishes by Northwestern's big men, Burns and Anderson, put the hosts ahead by three, but consecutive baskets by the Cougars put them back in front with 3:39 to play. Wolbert promptly buried another timely three-pointer to give UNW a 67-65 edge, and after back-to-back UMM layups, was able to tie the game at 69 with a pull-up jumper. After the Cougars went back ahead by two with 1:43 left, Coach
Tim Grosz decided to put the ball in the hands of his leading scorer: Nyamari. The junior sliced his way to the rim on consecutive trips to put the Eagles in front, 73-71, but that would be the last point Northwestern would score. A tip-in plus a foul put Morris ahead, and UNW was unable to get anything to fall in its final four attempts, ultimately falling by a 78-73 margin after being out-scored 50-38 in the second half.
Nyamari's 21 points led the way for the Eagles, who shot just 19% from three. The junior also added four rebounds, while Wolbert logged 18 points and five boards. Burns, who battled foul trouble throughout much of the game, still managed to put up another double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high three assists. Stevens chipped in eight points, four rebounds and four blocks, while Anderson tallied seven points and nine rebounds.
The road doesn't get much easier for UNW, who is just one game out of first place despite currently sitting in fifth and out of the UMAC playoff picture. The Eagles will travel to face one of the teams ahead of them, Bethany Lutheran, on Wednesday, February 12
th. Northwestern got the best of the Vikings in the conference opener on January 8
th in St. Paul. Tip-off in Mankato is set for 5:30 PM.
