Box Score MEQUON, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Trailing by 13 points with six minutes remaining, the Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team closed the game on a 29-8 run to defeat Concordia Wisconsin 90-82 on Saturday night inside the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse. Freshman Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) scored a season-high 30 points and the Warriors clinched the NACC North Division title with the win.
- Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 90, Concordia Wisconsin 82
- Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (7-1, 7-1 NACC), Concordia Wisconsin (5-4, 4-4 NACC)
- Location: R. John Buuck Fieldhouse, Mequon, Wis.
- The Warriors got off to a hot start, scoring the first 11 points of the game. Junior Alex VanCrete (Green Lake, Wis.) opened the scoring after a block from junior Zach Zuleger (West Bend, Wis.), and Stoltz netted five points to give WLC a double-digit advantage in the first three minutes.
- Wisconsin Lutheran led by as many as 10 over the next 10 minutes, before the Falcons cut the gap down to five at 23-18 with 8:19 left in the first half. A jump shot from Stoltz and a layup by senior Randy Johnson Jr. (Milwaukee, Wis.) helped the Warriors extend the lead back to nine at 29-20.
- A 7-0 WLC run in the closing minutes of the half pushed the advantage to a game-high 12 points. Junior Solomon Zarling (West Bend, Wis.) scored five points on the run give the Warriors a 42-30 cushion with 1:48 remaining until the break. Concordia Wisconsin cut the deficit in half to make the score 42-36 at halftime.
- Sophomore Trevor Stiede (Pulaski, Wis.) connected on a three to open the second half, but the Falcons scored 12 unanswered points to take their first lead of the game at 48-45 with 16:42 left in the game. Another 8-0 run just minutes later gave CUW a nine-point edge at 59-50 with under 14 minutes remaining.
- The Falcons saw their lead reach a game-high 13 points at 74-61 with 6:25 left. WLC responded with 10 consecutive points to cut its deficit down to just three.
- Wisconsin Lutheran evened the score at 80-80 on a three from Zarling with 1:23 remaining. Following a pair of offensive rebounds, Stiede gave the Warriors the lead with a three from the top of the key and forced a Concordia Wisconsin timeout. WLC closed the game at the line, converting 7-of-8 attempts for a 90-82 win over the Falcons.
- Stoltz led the Warriors in scoring, dropping a season-high 30 points on 8-of-17 shooting and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line. He added a team-high five assists and pulled down five boards and recorded three steals. Zarling rounded out the Warriors in double figures, totaling 11 points and a team-high four steals.
- Wisconsin Lutheran shot 39.4 percent (26-of-66) from the floor and 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from deep. WLC converted a season-high 29 attempts from the line, including 24 in the second half for 80.6 percent.
- Zuleger and VanCrete each pulled down 10 rebounds to pace the team. The Warriors were strong on the offensive glass, collecting 14 offensive rebounds and out-scoring the Falcons 19-4 in second-chance points.
- The Green and White blocked 10 shots, including four by Zuleger and three from VanCrete.
- Jordan Johnson and Grant Karsten each scored 20 points to pace the Falcons. CUW shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the floor and 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from beyond the arc.
- Johnson pulled down seven rebounds to share the team lead with Brandon Keller and Gabe Pruss. Jared Jurss dished out 11 assists to lead the team.
- Wisconsin Lutheran plays its final two conference games on the road against Edgewood (7-6, 4-4 NACC) next weekend. The Eagles are currently tied with four other teams in the NACC North Division for second place. Tip-off on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
