MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) -Â Seventeenth-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran College began its Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament title defense by a allowing just 14 first-half points in a suffocating 86-57 quarterfinal win over eighth-seeded Rockford on Wednesday at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (24-2), who won their school-record 28th consecutive home game, saw graduate
Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) become the program's all-time career rebounds leader with 848.
WLC jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a pair of buckets from graduate
Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) with 16:05 remaining in the first half. Ten points from graduate
Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) led a 17-0 Wisconsin Lutheran run, putting them up 31-5 with 6:12 left. Both teams went back and forth to close out the opening half, as the Warriors took a 38-14 lead into the break. The 14 points allowed by WLC in the opening half was a season low.
The Regents opened the second half on an 8-2 run, cutting their deficit to 18 points at 40-22 with 17:30 to play. Wisconsin Lutheran responded by scoring the next six points, four of which came from Broeckel, to put them in front 46-22 with 15:54 remaining. After some back and forth scoring, a pair of threes from freshman
Sam Hans (Hartland, Wis.) sparked another 10-2 run, as the Warriors held a game-high 64-31 lead with just under nine minutes left. An 11-1 RU run pulled them within 22 with 4:48 remaining, but that was all the closer they would get as WLC closed out the quarterfinal win.Â
Broeckel was one of five players from Wisconsin Lutheran in double figures, finishing with 14 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Goetz finished with 14 points, a game-high seven assists, and seven rebounds. Stoltz also added 14 points and four assists. Hans had a season-high 11 points off the bench, while graduate
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) chipped in 10 points and four steals. The Warriors shot 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from the floor and 82.8 percent (24-for-29) from the free throw line.
Anthony Espensen scored a game-high 23 points for Rockford (14-12), which shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57) from the floor.
WLC next hosts fourth-seeded Concordia Wisconsin (15-11) on Friday at 7 p.m. in a NACC Tournament semifinal at Time of Grace Center. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com. The Falcons defeated fifth-seeded Concordia Chicago 82-68 on Wednesday.
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