DUBUQUE, Iowa (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College shot a season-high 53.7 percent and connected on a season-best 15 three-pointers in a 93-77 wire-to-wire non-conference win over Simpson on Friday at the Loras Holiday Classic inside the Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center.
The Warriors (10-1), who ran their winning streak to nine games, shot over 50 percent for the fourth time this season and never trailed against the Storm (5-7).
WLC scored the first five points of the game on a three from senior
Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) and a fastbreak dunk from senior
AJ Vos (Lombard, Ill.). SC knotted the score for the second and final time at 7-7, but a 10-0 run by Wisconsin Lutheran gave them its first double-digit lead of the day.
The Warriors, who maintained a lead of at least nine points for the final 13 minutes of the first half, led by a first-half high 18 points at 38-20 following a jumper from sophomore
Austin Wagner (Jackson, Wis.) with 6:41 left that capped an 8-0 run. Simpson scored the next seven points to come within 11, but WLC went into halftime holding a 44-29 advantage. Goetz and senior
Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) scored 12 and 11 points apiece in the opening stanza.
The Storm cut an 18-point deficit down to 11 at the 16:08 mark of the second half, but Wisconsin Lutheran blew the game open with a 16-0 scoring run that concluded with a jumper from senior
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) with 10:41 on the clock.
The Warriors, who shot 57.1 percent in the second half, extended their lead to a game-high 34 points at 85-51 three minutes later on sophomore
Ja'Quell Chisom's (Milwaukee, Wis.) steal and jumper. With the contest well in-hand, SC used a late 11-0 run to narrow its deficit down to 14 points with under two minutes left.
Hefle tied a career-high and led all scorers with 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting from behind the arc. Stoltz finished with 22 points with five three-point makes and four assists, Goetz tallied 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Chisom added a season-high 10 points. Senior
Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. WLC shot 53.7 percent (36-for-67) from the floor and 48.4 percent (15-for-31) from beyond the arc.Â
Andrew Curran led four players in double figures with 12 points for Simpson, which shot 50 percent (28-for-56) for the game.
Wisconsin Lutheran faces host Loras (10-1) tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the final game of the Loras Holiday Classic. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
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