Warriors Dispatch Spartans, 95-68

AURORA, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Junior Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) scored a game-high 25 points and junior Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) added 22 to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 95-68 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Aurora on Saturday at Thornton Gymnasium.

The Spartans (12-8, 7-6 NACC), who had just one loss on their homecourt entering today's game, scored the first four points of the contest and held a 9-5 lead before a Stoltz three-pointer gave the Warriors (15-6, 12-2 NACC) their first lead of 10-9 at the 14:39 mark. WLC clung to a slim 17-15 lead with 11:23 remaining before a 9-0 scoring run pushed its advantage to 11 points after a layup from Goetz.

Another 11-2 run by Wisconsin Lutheran extended the lead to 40-22 with 2:13 left before halftime. The Warriors went into intermission with a 46-26 lead after shooting 46.9 percent. Stoltz scored 16 of his 22 points in the half, while Goetz went for 12 points.  

WLC heated up in the second half by shooting over 57 percent and had only two consecutive misses for the floor at two different times. Wisconsin Lutheran maintained a lead between 18 and 24 points for the first four-and-a-half minutes of the second half, but a short 5-0 spurt put the Warriors ahead by 27 points with 14:15 remaining. 

WLC's lead never dropped below 23 points over the final 15:32 of the game. A late 9-2 run vaulted Wisconsin Lutheran's lead to a game-high 31 points following a three from junior Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) with 5:45 left. 

Goetz capped off a monster week with a game-high 25 points to lead three players in double figures. He also distributed a game-high four assists. Stoltz finished with 22 points and a game-high four steals, while Broeckel added 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Wisconsin Lutheran shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the floor and out-scored AU 23-11 in points off turnovers.

Julian Gatewood and Trey Jenkins scored 13 points each for Aurora, which shot 41.8 percent (28-for-67) for the game. 

The Warriors start a three-game homestand on Tuesday when they host St. Norbert (14-7, 11-3 NACC) in a crucial conference contest at 7 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.