MORRIS, Minn. – The Northland College Men's Basketball team was defeated 74-58 by the University of Minnesota Morris in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon in Morris, Minn. Freshman Ari Pierson led the scoring for the LumberJacks with a career-high 19 points.
 
The Cougars began scoring after a minute without a bucket to start the game. A minute later, Pierson connected from behind the arc to give the Jacks their first lead. Pierson then found Jahlani Thornton in the paint, who converted for two points. UMM began to build a lead with four straight points, going up by four. Thornton ended the rally by going two-for-two at the line. Hayden Harmoning grabbed an offensive rebound and tied the game at nine with his first points. The Cougars then started to pull away, going up by 10 with just over four minutes left in the opening half. Donovan Washington and Damian Cejka each scored on back-to-back possessions to pull within six. An Ian McFaggen three-pointer had the Jacks within five, starting to chip away at the advantage. Washington got a shot off in the final second, putting the score at 31-24 in favor of UMM.
 
After a few shots were traded, Pierson cut the lead to six with another three-pointer. Then it was down to five after Washington converted from deep. The Cougars then went on a hot streak, scoring 11 unanswered points to take their biggest lead at 17. Northland started to chip away from the free-throw line but wasn't making significant progress. With just under seven minutes to play, UMM was up by 20. Stephen Kesti scored in the paint to start some offensive movement. Pierson hit two more triples, and Thornton scored in the paint, bringing the lead down to 11 with just over four minutes remaining. The Jacks then went cold, scoring only five points in the final four minutes. The Cougars made their free throws and secured the 74-58 victory.
 
Pierson led the scoring with 19 points for the Jacks, going 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Washington and Thornton rounded out the top three with nine and eight points, respectively. The three leading scorers also led the team in rebounds, each totaling seven.
 
The Jacks continue their road trip as they play at North Central University at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
 
Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.