2021-22 UMAC Men's Basketball Tournament starts with top-four teams winning in quarterfinals

2021-22 UMAC Men's Basketball Tournament starts with top-four teams winning in quarterfinals

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ST. PAUL, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball postseason tournament got off to a fast start with the top three seeds winning in convincing action while the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds played in wire-to-wire action with No. 4 Bethany Lutheran College emerging with a two point win. 

The UMAC semifinals are set for Friday with No. 1 University of Northwestern welcoming No. 4 Bethany Lutheran and No. 2 Crown College set to face No. 3 North Central University after all four teams won in the quarterfinals.

| Tournament Championship Page | Bracket |
 
No. 1 Northwestern def. No. 8 Martin Luther, 112-78 | Box Score |
No. 1 Northwestern found repeat success against No. 8 Martin Luther College after the two teams met in the final game of the regular season Saturday. The champion Eagles had five players score in double digits for the convincing win.
  • As a team, Northwestern shot an impressive 51.7 percent from the field with 10 different players inking their name in the points column of the score sheet. 
  • Caleb Hoilien led the scoring for the Eagles with 22 points, while Kyle Kaemingk came off the bench for 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Henry Fahnbulleh added an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double effort in the win. 
  • Joseph Hirsch compiled a 23-point performance for the Knights to lead all scorers in the game. He also added a team-best seven rebounds and two steals.

No.  2 Crown def. No. 7 Minnesota Morris, 82-60 | Box Score |
After a disappointing loss to end the season, No. 2 Crown responded in a big way taking down No. 7 University of Minnesota Morris in front of a home playoff crowd behind a 42.9 percent shooting performance from downtown.
  • The Storm had four players who had double-digit point totals and six different players hit from 3-point range for the team's total of 12. 
  • Jacob Masek scored a team-best 14 points with three makes from beyond the arc for the Storm. Carter Behne added 13 points, while Cade Neubert led the team with eight rebounds. 
  • Dillon Hader and Will McBee led the scoring efforts for the Cougars as each tallied 11 points. McBee grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, and Hader had four assists. 

No. 3 North Central def. No. 6 Northland, 93-65 | Box Score |
No. 3 North Central scored 20 points off of 16 turnovers from No. 6 Northland College and shot 56.9 percent from the field to earn a big win in the opening round of the tournament.  
  • Four Rams scored 12 points or more in the victory including two players off the bench. The Rams also held a 38-28 advantage on the glass.
  • Micah Filer poured in a game-high 25 points with a 9-of-16 shooting effort from the field. Justin Castro was an impressive 6-of-9 adding 16 points. Kayden Sund scored 13 points and led with seven rebounds.
  • Harley Shear led the scoring for the LumberJacks with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with Kevon Powell adding 13 points off the bench. 

No. 4 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 5 Wisconsin-Superior, 80-78 | Box Score |
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran was looking to move on from two tough one-point losses in the final weekend of the season and needed a huge comeback in the quarterfinal after being down 11 points at the half to No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Superior. 
  • The Vikings needed less than eight minutes in the second half to erase their 11-point deficit before taking the lead and holding off a late-game surge from the Yellowjackets for the win. 
  • Senior Brian Smith continued his standout season with a dazzling 24-point performance on 50-percent shooting and a game-high six assists. Hunter Neilsen added 13 points and pulled in a game-high eight boards.
  • Four players scored in double figures for the Yellowjackets led by Josh Reinertsen with 18 off the bench on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Josef Fahrenholtz grabbed a game-best eight rebounds. 


TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Feb. 23 - Quarterfinals
No. 1 Northwestern def. No. 8 Martin Luther, 112-78 | Box Score |
No. 2 Crown def. No. 7 Minnesota Morris, 82-60 | Box Score |
No. 3 North Central def. No. 6 Northland, 93-65 | Box Score |
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 5 Wisconsin-Superior, 80-78 | Box Score |

Friday, Feb. 25 - Semifinals
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran at No. 1 Northwestern, St. Paul, Minn., 7:30 p.m.  | Live Stats | Live Video |
No. 3 North Central at No. 2 Crown, St. Bonifacius, Minn., 7 p.m.  | Live Stats | Live Video |

Sunday, Feb. 27 - Championship
Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed

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.
 
Tournament Championship Page