DIV 3
Men's Basketball Wins UMAC Tournament in Final Conference Battle with Saints
DULUTH, Minn. – The No. 2 seeded University of Northwestern St. Paul Eagles upset the No. 1 seeded St. Scholastica Saints the 2020-21 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Championship on Monday night in a thrilling 74-61 victory!
Noah Alm led the offensive attack for the Eagles as the senior scored 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Kyle Kaemingk was an all-around force to be reckoned with as the junior put up 18 points while pulling down 11 rebounds for the double-double.
Right out the gate the championship game was a back-and-forth battle. Neither team led by more than four points until the 16th minute when the Saints hit a free-throw to go up 31-26. The Eagles answered by going on an 8-2 run to close out the half and take a razor thin 34-33 lead into halftime.
St. Scholastica struck quickly with a jumper to retake the lead 35-34 just 19 seconds into the second half. The lead would be their last, as the Eagles answered with a jumper of their own as Kaemingk scored to give UNW a lead they would hold until the final buzzer 19 minutes and 24 seconds later.
Northwestern pulled ahead of the Saints with a 16-7 run early in the final half. Caleb Waldeck hit a jumper in the paint to give UNW a 48-40 lead with 15:37 remaining. At that point the Eagles found a groove and stayed steady to the end, as they held a lead of at least eight points for the remainder of the game.
The momentum of the game shifting at halftime to Northwestern is evident in the team stats. At the end of the first half, the Eagles were shooting 47.1 percent from the field and a disappointing 14.3 percent from three-point range. In the second, UNW improved to 54.2 percent on field goals and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc.
As time expired, the Eagles stormed the court to celebrate their 12th UMAC Tournament Championship since the inception of the award 23 seasons ago. The UNW dynasty keeps rolling as the Eagles have won the tournament nine times in the past 11 years.
At the start of the trophy ceremony, Alm was named the UMAC Tournament MVP. In the three tournament games the senior averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from the field to lead the Eagles' championship run.
This UMAC championship game held special significance as it is the final time the Eagles and Saints will face-off as conference opponents as St. Scholastica moves to the MIAC next season.
While the conference competition may be over, the Eagles aren't done yet. Up next is the NCCAA Regional Tournament as Northwestern hosts the first contest at home on Saturday, March 13, in the Ericksen Center.