MORRIS, Minn. – In a tight Upper Midwest Conference Men's Basketball race, every win counts. The University of Northwestern's 88-79 home win over the University of Minnesota Morris on January 17
th was one of only two blemishes on the first-place Cougars' conference slate heading into Saturday's rematch in Morris. It was a tight game throughout, until a 14-2 run in the final six minutes allowed Morris to pull away for an 84-74 win despite another 30-point performance from
Japheth Nyamari (Anoka, Minn./Anoka), who scored a career-high 40 on Wednesday. The loss dropped UNW to 4-5 in UMAC play, tied for fifth place.
Four Eagles combined to score the team's first eight points of the game, and
AJ Greene's (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) three-pointer nearly eight minutes in got the fifth on the board and made it 15-14 in favor of the hosts. Minnesota Morris led by 12 with 3:45 left before the half, but Northwestern rattled off a 14-2 run to close the gap. Nyamari had nine of the 14 points, including an and-one, and Greene scored the other five. At the half, the Cougars held a 40-39 edge despite Nyamari and Greene combining for 37 points.
A
Will Foster (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) three-pointer to begin the second half gave UNW its first since the 18:10 mark in the first half, and after it was briefly taken back by UMM, a
Jacob Hoefs (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) three and a
Noah Frazell (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) layup put the Eagles back up by three. Morris regained a five-point edge, but Nyamari and Greene combined for a 6-0 run to make it 58-57 in favor of the visitors with 12:02 remaining, setting up a sequence of lead changes that resembled a tennis match. After a Nyamari jumper with 7:12 to play that made it 66-65, the Cougars took the lead for good. Hoefs scored six of Northwestern's last eight points of the day, but a 14-2 run by UMM put the game out of reach and gave the hosts an 84-74 win to avenge last month's loss in St. Paul.
Nyamari's 30-point outing was the sixth time this season he has scored at least that many, and his third in a row. The senior also added seven rebounds and three steals. Greene finished with 20 points and made all three of his three-point attempts, shooting 61.5% from the floor as well. Hoefs was the only other Eagle to finish in double figures with 10, adding five rebounds. Foster also collected five rebounds and tallied a pair of steals.
UNW will dip back into non-conference play on Monday, February 9
th, traveling to Bethel University for a game that was originally supposed to be played in November. Tip-off in Arden Hills is scheduled for 7:30 PM between the neighborhood rivals.
