Game of the Week: Bethany Lutheran at North Central - Men's Basketball
UMAC Game of the Week Archives
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week is a feature that takes place each week throughout the conference portion of the season with one contest being selected and highlighted as the UMAC Game of the Week.
This week's Game of the Week will take place on Friday, February 12th at 5:30 p.m. as Bethany Lutheran College travels to North Central University in men's basketball action. The Rams (7-5) enter the weekend sitting in fourth place in the UMAC standings, while the Vikings (6-6) sit in sixth, just one game behind NCU. With only two regular season weekends left, this is an important game for both teams as they look to secure a spot in the UMAC post-season tournament.
About the Rams:
After a strong start to conference play the Rams are trying to regain their early season form. The Rams defeated each of the current top four teams in the UMAC standings on the way to a 7-1 league record half way through the conference schedule. Since then North Central has dropped four in a row, including three on the road in January and February.
North Central will need to rebound from their current losing streak to stay in the hunt for hosting a UMAC playoff basketball game for the first time ever. NCU continues to get balanced scoring with six players averaging double figures but will need to step on defense where they have allowed over 90 points in three of the four games in their current slide after allowing less than 80 points per game in their first eight league games.
About the Vikings:
Bethany Lutheran travels this weekend for a pair of UMAC games. On Friday night, the Vikings will take on North Central in the UMAC Game of the Week before heading to Northwestern on Saturday for another conference battle. The Vikings gave the Rams their first conference loss earlier in the season, earning a 78-75 victory. Brandyn Frelix scored 29 points in the efforts over North Central back in early January.
Frelix is leading the way for the Vikings this year with 18.6 points per game, which ranks fourth in the entire conference. The junior is shooting 50 percent from the field, which also ranks atop the conference. The importance of earning a victory over North Central is crucial for the Vikings to stay in the hunt for postseason play.
Game Notes:
- North Centrals High brothers (Josh and Jared) are both ranked in the top five (2
nd and 4
th) in the UMAC in 3PTM per contest.
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Bethany ranks first in the offensive rebound category, averaging 13.5 per game.
- NCU senior Cody Martin is currently tied for the UMAC lead in overall assists per game (5.3) while also scoring over 11 points per contest.
- Bethany is shooting 73.0% (365-500) from the free-throw line, second best in the UMAC.
- Senior Josh High became the NCU career leader in made three pointers last week while firing over .400 for his career (239 3PTM).
- Four Vikings reached double digits in points in the first contest between the two teams at Bethany.
- The Rams lost their first two UMAC playoff games including last year at Minnesota-Morris after finishing fourth in league play.
- The Vikings hold a slim advantage over the Rams, winning four of the last seven contests.
- North Central is one of just two teams (UNW) with six players averaging double figures despite only 1 player being ranked in the league’s top 10 scorers.
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