No. 2 Northwestern takes down rival No. 1 St. Scholastica in UMAC men's basketball tournament championship
DULUTH, Minn.—For the last eight years, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball tournament has guaranteed one thing – an exciting matchup between the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Northwestern.
In the final match up ever of this storied postseason rivalry, No. 2 University of Northwestern used an early second-half run to upset No. 1 College of St. Scholastica for the 2021 UMAC men's basketball postseason championship 74-61 Monday.
The first half was a competitive one with St. Scholastica taking an early lead but never by more than five points. Northwestern closed out the final three minutes with an 8-2 run to take a 34-33 lead at the half.
After giving up the opening basket of the second half to the Saints though, the Eagles went on a 16-5 to build a double-digit lead less than six minutes in and never looked back en route to a ninth tournament title in the last 11 seasons.
Eagles' junior Noah Alm collected a cool 24 points to lead all scorers and finish as the UMAC Tournament MVP. Twice in the tournament he eclipsed 24 points and finished three games averaging 19.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and shooting 56 percent from the field. He also added six assists, three steals and two blocks.
Championship Game Highlights
- Northwestern shot 50 percent from the field and held the Saints to just 39.7 percent. At the line, the Eagles were 14-of-17 including 13-of-15 in the second half. The Eagles also held a 39-28 advantage on the glass and recorded 12 second-chance points.
- Alm finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead all players. Kyle Kaemingk recorded an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double and was 7-of-15 from the field. Owen Boerema also eclipsed double figures with 11 points on a 4-of-6 shooting performance.
- Nick Carlson led the Saints with 14 points and three assists, while Cade Goggleye added 11 points, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Three other players recorded eight points each.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinal Round – Thursday, March 4
- No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 8 Northland, 86-71 | Box Score |
- No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 7 Martin Luther, 71-60 | Box Score |
- No. 3 North Central def. No. 6 Minnesota Morris, 65-57 | Box Score |
- No. 4 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 5 Wisconsin-Superior, 71-70 | Box Score |
Semifinal Round – Saturday, March 6
- No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Bethany Lutheran, 71-53 | Box Score |
- No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 3 North Central, 67-51 | Box Score |
Championship – Monday, March 8
- No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 1 St. Scholastica, 74-61 | Box Score |
Tournament Championship Page