Northwestern, St. Scholastica win to set up UMAC men's title game rematch
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's basketball championship tournament got off to an exciting start Monday as No. 5 seed University of Minnesota Morris upset No. 4 Northland College to advance to the semifinals. The excitement continued with two men's semifinal games Wednesday evening as No. 2 Bethany Lutheran College played host to No. 3 College of St. Scholastica, while No. 1 University of Northwestern welcomed No. 5 Minnesota Morris.
Wednesday's semifinals set up a rematch for Saturday's title game from the UMAC men's tournament championship game a year ago as No. 1 Northwestern downed No. 5 Minnesota Morris 76-70 at home in St. Paul, while No. 3 St. Scholastica stunned No. 2 Bethany Lutheran on the road in Mankato.
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Tournament Site |
Semifinal 1 Recap |
Semifinal 2 Recap |
Men's Basketball - No. 1 Northwestern defeats No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 76-60 |
Box Score |
Following a loss to end a championship season, the top-seeded Eagles were able to rebound in a big way to make their way to the title game for the second time in as many years – this time with the right to host.
The semifinal opened with a little bit of back-and-forth before the Eagles quickly built a 10 point lead before pushing it to as many as 17 points. The Cougars – who were nearly unstoppable Monday – weren't ready to give up, though, and cut the Eagles' lead to just nine at the half. The Eagles then started the second half with a 10-4 run to quickly regain their lead en route to victory.
Will Gisler – last year's tournament MVP – led the Eagles with a monstrous 21 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Peter Maring also had a 17-point,10-rebound double-double to add to the Eagles' big night, while Porter Morrell also scored 17 points. Tyler Ukkleberg led the charge for the Cougars with 15 points and CD Douglas finished an impressive year with 12 points.
Men's Basketball - No. 3 St. Scholastica defeats No. 2 Bethany Lutheran, 90-70 |
Box Score |
After losing twice to the Vikings in the regular season, the Saints found the third time to be a charm as they came out strong in the second half to earn a shot at the Eagles in the UMAC title game for the second-straight season.
In the first half, the Saints went up early by as many as 11 points before the Vikigns gained some momentum and cut the lead to two with 11:39 to go in the opening 20. However, the Saints regrouped and took a 43-34 lead into the half and didn't miss a step in the second. St. Scholastica came out on a 12-3 run to push t heir lead to 18 less than four minutes in and never looked back.
Kry Deadrick made four 3-pointers and tallied 22 total points and nine rebounds to lead the Saints in both categories, while rookie Collin Anderson came off the bench for 18 points. Dylan Zimmerman also added 16 points to add to the Saints offense. Senior Brandyn Frelix led the Vikings with 14 points and six boards, while Bradley Rose came off the bench for 12 points.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
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Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Feb. 20
No. 5 Minnesota Morris def. No. 4 Northland, 89-76 |
Box Score |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Feb. 22
No. 1 Northwestern def. No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 76-60 |
Box Score |
No. 3 St. Scholastica def. No. 2 Bethany Lutheran, 90-70 |
Box Score |
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 25
No. 3 St. Scholastica at No. 1 Northwestern, St. Paul, Minn., 7:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Live Video |