Warriors Reel In Muskies Behind Strong Second Half

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - The Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team scored 46 points and shot 56.7 percent in the second half en route to collecting a 71-57 win over Lakeland on Tuesday night at the Recreation Complex.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 71, Lakeland 57
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (8-5, 6-3 NACC), Lakeland (4-8, 3-6 NACC)
• Location: Recreation Complex, Milwaukee, Wis. | Attendance: 82

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Muskies jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but neither team could gain much separation through the first 13 minutes of the first half, as the score was tied at 15-15 with 7:05 left.
• The Muskies used an 11-0 run to build their largest lead of the game at 26-15 with 4:04 left before halftime, but the Warriors cut that deficit to just five points, 30-25, at the break.
• Lakeland shot a sizzling 54.2 percent (13-for-24) in the first half and was paced by Pat McDonald's eight points. WLC shot just 25.0 percent (7-for-28) and was led by Collin Kennedy's (Holmen, Wis./Luther) six first-half points.
• Wisconsin Lutheran chipped away at the Muskies' lead in the second half, as Colin Biesterfeld (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) put the Warriors on top for the first time since the 9:30 mark of the first half with a three-pointer for a 44-43 lead with 11:22 left on the clock.
• With the score knotted at 47-47, WLC scored 10 straight points for a 10-point lead with 6:08 remaining. The Warriors answered with another 10-0 run just over two minutes later after Lakeland came within seven points. 
• The Green and White extended their lead to a game-high 17 points with just over a minute left in the contest.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Chase Nowak (Milwaukee, Wis./St. Francis) led the Warriors with a game-high 18 points, including 16 in the second half. Collin Kennedy and Christian Walz (Waukesha, Wis./West) added 17 and 15, respectively. Kennedy also grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for a double-double. Tanner Schieve (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) dished out eight assists for WLC.
• Wisconsin Lutheran shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) for the game, while Lakeland shot a comparable 41.5 percent (22-for-53).
• The Warriors out-rebounded the Muskies 42-31 and owned an 18-4 margin in second-chance-points.
• Eric Nygaard finished the game with 13 points to lead Lakeland. Brandon James, the NACC's leading scorer, was limited to just six points. 
• Wisconsin Lutheran won its third straight over Lakeland and maintained its third-place position in the conference standings.

UP NEXT

• The Warriors travel to Concordia Wisconsin (6-6, 5-4 NACC) on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup at the R. John Buuck Field House. The Falcons defeated Edgewood 84-66 on Tuesday night. Links to live stats and video will be available for the game at WLCSports.com.