New Ulm, MN - Following an emotional high from an upset win over Northwestern, MLC had to turnaround and match their level of performance against an athletic North Central team on Saturday. Meanwhile, North Central had previously lost to Bethany 72-63 on Friday and was determined to walk away from their Southern Minnesota trip with a split and did just that, beating the Knights 93-72.

The crowd  went into another frenzy early on after Thomas Balge dunked the ball on a breakaway steal in the open court and it was clear that MLC was playing confidently off of last night's win. However, the Rams would exploit the Knights' defense and Remy Wedgeworth got his team going offensively, as the point guard delivered on drive and kick plays to give North Central a 25-13 lead at the10:53 mark. The Rams also fed off of their offensive performance by tightening up their pressure around the perimeter, forcing MLC into turnovers.

Trey Lauber then provided a spark with his outside jump shot and the Knights closed the gap 31-30 with 5:37 remaining the in the first half. From there, Wedgeworth pushed the tempo and got his teammates involved, but the Knights would still stick close by and were within single digits (48-39) at halftime.

North Central started the second half going up 61-48 after a few minutes, but MLC once again didn't let it get out of hand and managed to chip away at the deficit with their aggression towards the basket and their relentless pursuit of loose balls. The Knights cut it to 66-59 after a Balge shot around the rim, but the Rams utilized their depth and eventually strung together a 12-0 run that was highlighted by a pair of Nik Feller 3-pointers. North Central then held off MLC from that point on to win their first conference game.

Feller led the Rams with 19 points and North Central had five players reach double figures. 

Lauber paced the Knights with 21 points on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point territory. Balge had 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Nate Miller scored 13 points and showcased his shooting ability on tightly contested jumpers from the free throw line.

MLC shot the ball well for a second consecutive game, shooting 28-of-59 (47.5 percent), but the Rams matched that effort converting on 15 3-pointers while shooting 50 percent from deep.

MLC will now shift their focus to Lawrence University for their next game on the road. The Knights will travel to Appleton, WI for that game on Friday, December 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.