Box Score WAVERLY, Iowa (WLCSports.com) – Sophomore Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) tied a career high with 30 points to pace four players in double figures, as the Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team improved to 4-0 with an 84-71 win over Cornell (Iowa) on Friday night at the Buzz Levick Tip-Off Tournament inside Levick Arena.
- Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 84, Cornell 71
- Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (4-0), Cornell (1-3)
- Location: Levick Arena, Waverly, Iowa
- The Warriors trailed for a total of just 0:16 seconds in the game, as a Rams' three-pointer put them ahead 3-2.
- WLC jumped out to an 18-9 lead at the 15:11 mark of the first half following a three-pointer from sophomore Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.).
- Cornell cut its deficit down to just three points at 20-17 but an 11-0 scoring run by Wisconsin Lutheran gave them their first double-digit lead of the contest and forced a timeout.
- The Green and White extended their lead to a game-high 14 points on six different occasions in the first half, before heading into halftime with a 49-38 advantage. Stoltz scored 20 first-half points as the Warriors shot an impressive 62.5 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
- The Rams chipped away at their deficit to start the second half, using a 13-6 run to trail by just four points with 14:20 remaining.
- WLC responded with a 9-1 scoring run to bring its lead back to double-digits and maintained at least a nine-point advantage over the final 8:32 of the game.
- Wisconsin Lutheran converted at the charity stripe by making nine of its last 10 free throw tries in the contest.
- Stoltz tied his career high from a season ago with 30 points, including five threes and seven makes at the free throw line.
- Senior Alex VanCrete (Green Lake, Wis.) followed with 14 points and senior Drew Bernhagen (Markesan, Wis.) added 12 points. Hefle chipped in 10 points off the bench to round out the Green and White's double-figure scorers.
- Senior Jon Bailey (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored eight points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds in a reserve role.
- The Warriors shot a season-high 50.8 percent (31-for-61) from the floor and out-scored the Rams 19-2 in fastbreak points.
- "Cornell is one of the Midwest Conference's elite teams and it was great to get a win versus a talented and well-coached team. We executed well on offense and did a great job sharing the basketball." - Head Coach Aaron Aanonsen
- The Warriors will face either Monmouth (0-3) or Wartburg (2-0) tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the championship game of the Buzz Levick Tip-Off Tournament at Levick Arena. Live coverage links will be available for the game at WLCSports.com.
