Box Score MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – Trailing by five midway through the second half, the Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team rattled off a 19-3 run in the closing minutes to improve to 6-0 in the NACC with a 79-65 road win over MSOE on Monday night. Freshman Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) led the way for the Warriors, scoring a season and game-high 28 points. This is WLC's first 6-0 start in conference play since the 1997-1998 season.
- Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 79, MSOE 65
- Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (6-0, 6-0 NACC), MSOE (4-5, 2-4 NACC)
- Location: Edgar Hotchkin Arena, Milwaukee, Wis.
- Stoltz opened the scoring with a three following a steal by junior Drew Bernhagen (Markesan, Wis.). Sophomore Trevor Stiede (Pulaski, Wis.) gave the Warriors a 5-0 lead after another steal lead to a transition basket. The Raiders evened the score at five before Stiede connected on a pair of threes and junior Zach Zuleger (West Bend, Wis.) added a pair of layups to give WLC a 15-8 advantage.
- A couple minutes later, a layup from junior Isaiah Lenz (Oconomowoc, Wis.) jump-started an 8-0 Warriors run to extend the lead to 23-10. Freshman Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) and Stiede each knocked down a three to force a MSOE timeout with 12:57 remaining in the first half.
- Wisconsin Lutheran maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the opening half until a Raiders three with 0:30 seconds left cut the lead to 39-31 heading into the break.
- Early in the second half, MSOE used a 10-2 run to cut the WLC lead down to just two at 43-41. Stoltz converted a pair of free throws along with a three to bring the Warriors lead back up to five.
- The Raiders regained the lead with a 13-3 stretch midway through the second half. Trailing 56-51 with 10:40 remaining, layups from Bernhagen and junior Alex VanCrete (Green Lake, Wis.) along with a free throw evened the score. The teams traded baskets for the next couple minutes until junior Solomon Zarling (West Bend, Wis.) put the Warriors ahead for good 63-62 with a three-pointer.
- Zarling's three sparked a 19-3 run for WLC to close out the final five minutes of the game. The Raiders failed to make a shot from the floor over the final seven minutes, settling for five makes from the foul line, and turned the ball over three times. Stiede scored five points during the stretch, and Zuleger added a pair of layups as the Warriors remained undefeated and swept the two-game season series against MSOE by a final score of 79-65.
- Stoltz scored a season and game-high 28 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-9 from deep and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Stiede added 16 points and connected of 4-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc.
- The Warriors shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three. WLC continued to be efficient from the line, shooting 81.8 percent (18-of-22), the third time this season over at least 80 percent.
- Stoltz posted a team-high seven rebounds while Stiede dished out four assists.
- Wisconsin Lutheran forced 20 MSOE turnovers, and Stiede and VanCrete each had three steals. This led to a 26-15 advantage in points off turnovers and 16 fastbreak points for the Green and White.
- Joey Immekus scored a team-high 16 points off the bench, while Josh Herzog and Michael Pitrof added 12 and 11, respectively, to round out the Raiders in double figures.
- MSOE shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the floor and 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from three.
- The Warriors travel to Mequon this weekend for a two-game series against NACC foe Concordia Wisconsin (4-3, 3-3 NACC). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Live coverage links for both games will be available at WLCSports.com.
