MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Five players reached double-figure scoring led by senior
Ryan Broeckel's (Chilton, Wis.) season-high 34 points to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 97-86 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Lakeland on Wednesday at the Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (12-3, 7-1 NACC), who improved to 7-0 this season on Catalyst Court, eclipsed a season-high point total against the Muskies (5-10, 3-5 NACC) to remain tied atop the NACC standings.
LU jumped out to an early 8-3 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the first half before eight straight from WLC gave them a three-point lead a minute later. Neither team was able to gain more than a three-point advantage over the next 15 minutes of first half action, as the lead changed hands 12 times and featured four ties. Trailing 37-36 with four minutes remaining, Wisconsin Lutheran strung together its biggest run of the game, 10-0, which included eight points from the charity stripe. Senior
Grayson Goetz's (Aurora, Ill.) three-point play with just 0:13 seconds left gave the Warriors an 11-point lead before they went into the locker room at the break in front 52-43. Goetz paced all first-half scorers with 16 points, while Broeckel added 12.
A 6-0 spurt by WLC doubled its lead from six to 12 points over four-and-a-half minutes into the second half. Lakeland trailed 65-59 with 12 minutes remaining, but six straight points from Broeckel pushed the lead back in double digits with 10 minutes to play. The Muskies managed to trim their deficit under 10 points just once the rest of the way. Wisconsin Lutheran's lead grew to a game-high 17 points at 90-73 after a layup from senior
Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) with 3:13 left. Broeckel paced all second-half scorers with 22 points, while senior
AJ Vos (Lombard, Ill.) had 10 for the Warriors, who shot 50 percent over the final 20 minutes.
Broeckel posted his fourth double-double of the season with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks. Goetz finished with 19 points and six rebounds, Stoltz had 12 points and five boards, and senior
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) added 11 points and six assists. Vos stuffed the box score with 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and three assists. WLC shot 48.6 percent (34-for-70) from the floor and outscored LU 54-32 in the paint and 17-2 on turnovers. The teams were whistled for a combined 44 fouls which led to a total of 66 free throw attempts.
Cam Jaeger scored 21 points to pace four players in double figures for Lakeland, which shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) for the game.
Wisconsin Lutheran wraps up its three-game homestand on Saturday when it hosts Rockford (10-5, 4-4 NACC) at 1 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
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