Men's Basketball Remains Unbeaten At Home With Win Over Rockford

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Senior Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) posted his third straight double-double and Wisconsin Lutheran College remained unbeaten at home with an 84-68 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Rockford on Saturday at the Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (13-3, 8-1 NACC), who improved to 8-0 this season on Catalyst Court, shot at least 50 percent for the seventh time this year while holding the Regents (10-6, 4-5 NACC) 12 points below their season scoring average. 

Senior Jacob Hefle's (Germantown, Wis.) three-pointer four minutes into the game put WLC in front early, 7-3. Seven unanswered RU points gave the visitors their first lead of the contest two minutes later. Wisconsin Lutheran responded with an 11-0 scoring run, its largest of the game, to take an 18-10 lead. Rockford trailed by just a point at 27-26 at the five-minute mark before the Warriors closed out the half with an 11-4 run to lead 38-30 at the break. Broeckel poured in 14 first-half points, while Hefle added 12 for the Warriors, who made 17 of their 34 first-half shot attempts.

WLC led by 12 within the first two minutes of the second half after a pair of free throws from senior Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.), but a 14-5 Regents run had them within four with 14:20 remaining. Wisconsin Lutheran scored four straight out of its timeout and built a double-digit lead over the final 9:45 of the game. A 7-0 run extended the lead to a game-high 18 points at 81-63 with 2:47 left after a Broeckel layup. Broeckel and Stoltz each finished with 12 points, while senior Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) added 11 for the Warriors, who shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half.

Broeckel notched his third straight double-double and fifth of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds. He added three assists, three steals, and three blocks. Goetz finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, Hefle added 15 points, while Stoltz chipped in with 12 points and a career-high nine assists. WLC shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) for the game and scored over half of its points in the paint (46).

Kevin Diemer scored 26 points to pace three players in double figures for the Regents, who shot 42.4 percent (28-for-66) from the floor.

Wisconsin Lutheran kicks off a two-game road week on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Aurora (7-8, 4-4 NACC). Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.