ST. PAUL, Minn. – The opening round of the 2024-25 UMAC Men’s Basketball Tournament took place on Wednesday night as four teams competed in a pair of semifinal contests. The No. 3 University of Northwestern Eagles and the No. 4 Bethany Lutheran College Vikings upset their higher-seeded opponents to advance to the championship.
 
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran 68, No. 1 North Central 64
| Box Score | Broadcast |

Bethany Lutheran (13-13, 9-5 UMAC) traveled to Minneapolis for their semifinal match at the North Central University Rams (16-10, 10-4 UMAC). The Vikings had split their regular season series against the Rams, winning 104-92 on January 25 and falling 86-72 on February 22 in their regular season finale last week.
 
Competing in the postseason on Wednesday night, Bethany Lutheran took a 68-64 victory over North Central to advance to this Saturday’s championship game. The Vikings led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but the Rams rallied to tie the game up at 64-64 with just 2:44 remaining. The BLC defense held for the remainder of the game while scoring four more points to secure the win.
 
Drew Sagedahl led the Vikings with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with five rebounds and five assists. Jack Brockmann had a game-high 14 rebounds alongside six points and four assists.
 
The Rams were led by the McNeal brothers, Carrington and Carmello, who both scored 15 points for NCU.
 
No. 3 Northwestern 87, No. 2 Minnesota Morris 77
| Box Score | Broadcast |

Northwestern (15-11, 9-5 UMAC) traveled to face the University of Minnesota Morris Cougars (13-13, 10-4 UMAC) for their semifinal contest. The Eagles had split their regular season series with the Cougars, winning 71-69 on January 18 and falling 78-73 on February 8.
 
In Wednesday night’s playoff game, Northwestern defeated Minnesota Morris 87-77 to advance to Saturday’s tournament title game. The Eagles struggled from three-point range in the game, going 3-for-12 from beyond the arc, but was strong inside the arc at 57% shooting and outscored the Cougars 13-8 on second-chance points in the win.
 
Japheth Nyamari led UNW with a game-high 17 points and had six rebounds. The duo of Elijah Burns and AJ Greene followed with 14 points apiece while getting eight and six rebounds respectively.
 
Minnesota Morris was led by Pal Dak, who had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Carvin Fish had 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Northwestern Eagles and Bethany Lutheran Vikings will battle for the UMAC postseason title and the automatic bid to the NCAA DIII national tournament on Saturday, March 1 at the Ericksen Center in St. Paul, Minnesota at 2:00pm.
 
SCHEDULE
• Semifinals: Wednesday, February 26
    - 7:00 PM | #4 Bethany Lutheran at #1 North Central
        - FINAL: Vikings 68, Rams 64
        - Box Score | Broadcast
    - 7:00 PM | #3 Northwestern at #2 Minnesota Morris
        - FINAL: Eagles 87, Cougars 77
        - Box Score | Broadcast
• Championship: Saturday, March 1
    - 2:00 PM | #4 Bethany Lutheran at #3 Northwestern
        - Live Video | Live Stats
 
TICKETS
• $15 | Adults
• $10 | Seniors
• $10 | College Students
• $10 | Youth (Ages 6-18)
• Free | Ages 5 and Under
• Free | Any UMAC students, faculty, and staff with a valid and current institutional ID.
    • No other passes will be accepted.