Warriors Hold NACC's Top Spot After Win Over Eagles

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – Senior Alex VanCrete (Green Lake, Wis.) scored a team-high 18 points and the Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the NACC following an 84-74 win over Edgewood on Thursday night inside the Recreation Complex. The Warriors shot a season-best 85.7 percent from the charity stripe in the win.

• Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 84, Edgewood 74
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (14-5, 9-4 NACC), Edgewood (8-11, 7-5 NACC)
• Location: Recreation Complex, Milwaukee, Wis.

• The Warriors quickly erased an early 2-0 deficit with four free throws from sophomore Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) and built a 12-4 lead after a layup from senior Zach Zuleger (West Bend, Wis.).
• Back-to-back threes from junior Trevor Stiede (Pulaski, Wis.) and sophomore Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) put WLC in front 18-8 at the 13:01 mark of the opening half.
• The Eagles closed to within two points at 20-18, but a 19-8 run by Wisconsin Lutheran gave the hosts its largest lead of the first half with just over four minutes to play.
• The Green and White went into halftime with a 50-39 advantage after Stoltz beat the buzzer to end the first half.
• Sophomore Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) extended the Warriors' lead to a game-high 15 points less than two minutes into the second half with a pair of layups.
• An 11-2 scoring run by Edgewood forced a WLC timeout as the score read 56-50 with 15:14 remaining. 
• Wisconsin Lutheran scored four straight points out of the timeout, but the Eagles answered again with an 8-0 scoring run to trail by just two points with 11 minutes left.
• The visitors still trailed by two with eight minutes remaining, but six players combined for an 11-0 scoring run by the Green and White to lead 73-60 with 4:19 on the clock.
• The Warriors maintained at least a 10-point lead the rest of the way and went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to seal their eighth home win of the season.
• VanCrete led WLC with 18 points, while senior Drew Bernhagen (Markesan, Wis.) finished with 11.
• Sophomore Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) grabbed seven rebounds to go along with five points, four assists, and three steals.
• Broeckel finished with nine points and six boards, while Hefle and Zuleger chipped in eight apiece off the bench.
• Wisconsin Lutheran shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) from the floor for the game and 85.7 percent (24-for-28) from the free throw line. 

• The Warriors wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday when they host Aurora (4-13, 3-8 NACC) at 3:15 p.m. for Winterfest. Live coverage links will be available for the game at WLCSports.com.

MBB: @WLC_MBB 84, Edgewood 74

⚔️ @AlVanCrete (18) and @bernhagenballer (11) score in double figures.

⚔️ @grayson_goetz adds 7 rebounds, 5 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

⚔️ WLC shoots season-high 85.7% (24-for-28) from the free throw line.#WeAreWarriors #NACCtion #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/o8U8gdWaUW

— WLC Warriors (@WLCSports) February 4, 2022

MBB: @WLC_MBB continues its busy week of home games by hosting Edgewood tonight.

��: Edgewood
��: Feb. 3, 2022
��: Time of Grace Center
⏰: 7 p.m.
��: https://t.co/Xg5myZsvRo
��: https://t.co/0Iq1j5uQkL
��: https://t.co/cUyo27rfzG#NACCtion #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/NdKXlS2Eqj

— WLC Warriors (@WLCSports) February 3, 2022

The Warriors will be home to take on a conference opponent Edgewood College❕

⚔️��GAMEDAY��⚔️

�� | @ECEagles_BBall
�� | Time Of Grace Center (Home)
⏰ | 7:00 PM CST
�� | February 3rd 2022
��| https://t.co/PD2QYDiHR5#WeAreWarriors ��⚔️ pic.twitter.com/S2V1y9eOsg

— WLC Men's Basketball (@WLC_MBB) February 3, 2022