Northwestern captures second-consecutive UMAC men's basketball tournament title

Northwestern captures second-consecutive UMAC men's basketball tournament title

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ST. PAUL, Minn.---The University of Northwestern avenged a big loss to Crown College in the last match up between the two squads when it captured a second-consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball postseason tournament championship with an impressive 85-69 win Sunday. 

The opening six minutes of play had good pace with both teams exchanging points before the Eagles went on an 18-4 run to take a 13 point lead with less than nine minutes to play in the first half. The Eagles never looked back en route to their third UMAC tournament title in the last four seasons. 

Northwestern's impressive win was fueled by an offensive outburst from Noah Alm who was selected as the Tournament MVP. The senior fueled the first-half run with seven points and finished with 28 point on the day. He collected 53 points over the three tournament contests for the Eagles. 

The Eagles also earned the UMAC berth to the NCAA tournament. The men's basketball selection show will take place Monday at 11:30 a.m. on NCAA.com. 
 
Championship Game Highlights | Box Score |
  • Northwestern shot an impressive 61.1 percent from the field as a team and limited the Storm to just 37.1 percent shooting. The Eagles were nearly perfect at the line going 12-of-13. 
  • Alm recorded a game-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting. He was also 4-for-4 from the line and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Alm tallied a game-high four assists to lead the Eagles across the board.
  • Cade Carroll led the Storm with 19 points and seven rebounds. Three other players tallied in double figures. The Storm finished their impressive season 15-13 overall. 

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. 1 Northwestern def. No. 4 Bethany Lutheran, 96-88 | Box Score |
No. 2 Crown def. No. 3 North Central, 72-68 | Box Score |

Sunday, Feb. 27 - Championship
 No. 1 Northwestern def. No. 2 Crown, 85-69 |  Box Score |
 
Tournament Championship Page