Box Score
Box score
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For nearly 30 minutes, the
Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team battled
neck-and-neck with the top-ranked team in NCAA Division III.
Unfortunately, #1 Augustana (Ill.) controlled the final 10 minutes
of the game as the Warriors upset bid over the Vikings fell short
Friday at WU Field House, 74-46.
In the opening half, the Warriors and Vikings (5-0) went
back-and-forth as Wisconsin Lutheran led by as many as seven points
and never trailed by more than four in the opening 20 minutes of
play.
After playing the first 6:40 to an even score of 12-12, the
Warriors went on a 9-2 run to take the first half's largest lead at
21-14 when Russell Strutz (Sturtevant, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran)
buried a three-point basket. The Vikings responded with an 8-0 run
of their own to take a 22-21 lead. Augustana built its lead to
28-24 soon after, but the forest green and white trimmed their
deficit back to 31-29 at the break.
Alex Merbach (Kaukauna, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) poured in 12
first-half points for the Warriors to lead all players in the
opening half. The senior forward connected on five of his 10 shot
attempts, including knocking down one from behind the arc.
Wisconsin Lutheran was narrowly out-shot before the break as it
knocked down 46.2 percent (12-for-26) of its shots, compared to the
Vikings' 47.6 percent (10-for-21) shooting. WLC did force 11
Vikings turnovers compared to just eight Warriors turnovers in the
opening half of action.
The game remained tight in the opening portion of the first half
as the Warriors trailed by just five points with 10:46 remaining on
the clock, 43-38. Augustana then went on a 20-4 run to take a 63-42
lead with 5:07 remaining in the game. That run proved to be too
much for Wisconsin Lutheran as the Vikings pulled out the 28-point
victory.
The Warriors struggled shooting in the second half as they shot
just 3-for-22 after the break and finished the game shooting 31.3
percent (15-for-48). The Vikings, meanwhile, connected on 46.3
percent (25-for-54) of their shots during the contest.
Rebounding also proved to be key as Augustana used its size
advantage to pull down 15 offensive rebounds compared to the
Warriors' six offensive boards. AC also out-scored WLC 19-5 in
second-chance points.
Merbach finished with a game-high 16 points, while also grabbing
a team-best five rebounds for WLC. Chris Anderson was the lone
Viking to finish in double figures as he led a balanced scoring
effort for the visitors with 10 points.
Wisconsin Lutheran (1-6) concludes play at the Lopata Classic
tomorrow when it faces the loser of tournament host Washington
University and Whittier College. The game between WLC and either
the Bears or Poets is set to begin at 4 p.m. at the WU Field
House.
