Men's Basketball Falls Short In Season Opener Against Lawrence

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College led for more than 30 minutes but couldn't hold off a late Lawrence rally, falling 75-70 in its season opener on Saturday at Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (0-1) came out strong, using an 11-0 first-half run to build a game-high 12-point lead at 20-8 midway through the opening period following a jumper from senior Ja'Quell Chisom (Milwaukee, Wis.). WLC still held an 11-point advantage at 29-18 with 4:51 to play after freshman Bryce Appel's (Edgerton, Wis.) three-pointer. The Vikings came within four points with 0:35 seconds left and Wisconsin Lutheran went into halftime ahead 35-29. The Warriors shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half behind eight points each from Chisom and Appel.

LU (1-0) flipped the momentum after the break, shooting 57.7 percent in the second half and using runs of 9-1 and 10-1 run over a 10-minute span to erase an 11-point deficit and take its first lead of the game with just over eight minutes remaining. Lawrence led by as many as nine points with 4:14 remaining, WLC cut the margin to four in the closing minutes, but the Vikings sealed the win at the free throw line by scoring five of their final seven points from the charity stripe.

Wisconsin Lutheran was led by sophomore Lucas Anamndu's (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) 17 points and Chisom's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Appel added eight points and sophomore Sam Hans (Hartland, Wis.) contributed seven points and eight rebounds. The Warriors finished at 41.3 percent (26-for-63) shooting and held a 36-34 edge on the glass.

Casey Schoenecker tied all scorers with 17 points and added eight rebounds for LU. Nicholas Gouriotis finished with 11 points. Hogan Demovsky, Landon Key, and CJ Campbell chipped in nine points apiece. Lawrence shot 50.0 percent (25-for-50) from the field and held a 15-4 advantage in fast break points.

WLC continues its non-conference schedule on Tuesday when it travels to Rock Island, Illinois, to face Augustana (0-0) at 7 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.