Eagles win big, Saints pull off upset to set up UMAC rivalry championship game Saturday
Photo by Sei Matsumoto
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Two years ago, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball tournament championship game went to four overtimes between the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Northwestern. The 2018-19 championship game could be just as exciting as both squads won in semifinal action Thursday to set up another UMAC rivalry title game Saturday.
In the opening game of the night, No. 1 Northwestern won big when it took down No. 4 Crown College 106-85 in front of a packed crowd at home, extending the Eagles' winning streak to 14-straight games.
After a back-and-forth game between No. 2 Bethany Lutheran College and No. 3 St. Scholastica for two-thirds of the game, the Saints pulled away in the waning minutes of the second half to upset the Vikings with a 95-88 road win.
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Tournament Site |
Semifinal 1 |
Semifinal 2 |
No. 1 Northwestern def No. 4 Crown, 106-85 |
Box Score |
The opening minutes of the game saw Crown score the first bucket and keep the game close using the energy of the traveling fans to fuel their offense. However, the Eagles didn't take long to respond when they went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead at the 13:31 mark of the first half.
Eventually the Eagles were able to push their lead to 21 points at the half before pulling away even further in the second half to end Crown's postseason run. The Eagles were lights out shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from beyond the arc as a team making 13 shots from 3-point range.
Six players scored in double figures for the Eagles, but Michael Moore stood out from the rest scoring 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 from behind the 3-point line. He also added five rebounds and three assists to his red-hot performance. Brady Peterson came off the bench for 19 points, while Tanner Youngberg had 14 and a game-high seven rebounds.
Josh Volness led the scoring for the Storm with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Tim Wendel had 17 points. The Storm finish the season 17-10 overall.
No. 3 St. Scholastica def. No. 2 Bethany Lutheran, 95-88 |
Box Score |
The second game of the evening was a lot closer throughout than the first as the No. 2 Vikings held a 40-35 lead at the half after shooting 54.8 percent from the field. However, it was the Saints who got hot in the second half shooting 56.7 percent for a tale of two halves.
Halfway through the first 20 minutes the Vikings led by 10 points and appeared to be in control. They were up 11 points with 1:49 to play in the half before the Saints hit back-to-back 3-pointers to close the lead to just five.
That momentum for the Saints carried over into second half as they quickly evened the game at 41-41.Slowly, the Saints started to gain a lead, but the Vikings would find a way to get within one or two points to keep their postseason hopes alive. With just under five to play, the Saints went up 10 and managed to hold off the Vikings for the win.
Brandon Newman led the Saints offensively with a game-high 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting and an 11-of-14 performance from the charity stripe. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and dished out four assists. Four other players had double-digit performances including Jarod Wilken with 16 points and Colin Anderson with 13 off the bench.
Cire Mayfield matched Newman's 25 points to lead the Vikings in the loss. Trenton Kreuger recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Vikings finish with another solid winning season at 18-8 overall.
No. 3 St. Scholastica will now travel to face No. 1 Northwestern for the UMAC playoff championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. Paul.
Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Feb. 18
No. 4 Crown def. No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 78-71 |
Box Score |
CC Recap |
UMM Recap |
Semifinal Round – Thursday, Feb. 21
No. 1 Northwestern def. No. 4 Crown, 106-85 |
Box Score |
CC Recap |
UNW Recap |
No. 3 St. Scholastica def No. 2 Bethany Lutheran, 95-88 |
Box Score |
BLC Recap |
CSS Recap |
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 23
No. 3 St. Scholastica at No. 1 Northwestern, St. Paul, Minn., 7 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Live Video |
Ticket Information
All UMAC postseason events have the following set admissions prices: Adults, $10; college students and seniors, $5; youth (Age 6-18), $5; age 5 and under, FREE. Any UMAC students, faculty and staff are free with a valid and current institutional ID. No other passes will be accepted.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the UMAC Men’s Basketball page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on Twitter and
Instagram using #UMACchamp.