MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Seventeenth-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran College jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back en route to an 86-65 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal win over fourth-seeded Concordia Wisconsin on Friday at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (25-2), who set a program record for wins in a season, extended their home court winning streak to 29 games.
WLC came out on fire for a 7-0 lead with 16:47 left in the first half. After a bucket from the Falcons, Wisconsin Lutheran rattled off 17 straight points, behind eight from graduate
Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.), as it held a 24-2 lead with 10:29 remaining in the opening half. Another 10-2 Warriors run, five of which came from Stoltz, put WLC up 37-9 with 5:58 left. Both teams went back and forth to close out the half as Wisconsin Lutheran took a 45-23 lead into the locker room. The Warriors outscored CUW 17-4 in points off turnovers while shooting 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from the floor, including 50 percent (8-for-16) from beyond the arc in the first half.
WLC scored the first five points of the second half, resulting in a 50-23 lead with 18:48 remaining. Concordia Wisconsin later responded with a 6-0 run of its own, cutting Wisconsin Lutheran's lead to 20 points, 54-34, with 15:07 left. The Falcons used a 7-2 spurt to come as close as 17 points, before an and-one from graduate
Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) pushed the Warriors' lead back to 20, 63-43, with 11 minutes to play in the game. A 6-0 CUW scoring run was quickly answered by a 9-2 WLC run, capped off by a slam from junior
Ja'Quell Chisom (Milwaukee, Wis.). Wisconsin Lutheran held a 79-53 advantage with 5:02 left on the clock, and Concordia Wisconsin never pulled within 20 the rest of the way.
Goetz paced three players in double figures for the Warriors with 18 points, a game-high eight assists, and five rebounds. Stoltz added 17 points, five assists, and four steals. Graduate
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) chipped in 11 points for WLC, which shot 50.7 percent (35-for-69) from the field and 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from beyond the arc. Wisconsin Lutheran, which tallied a season-high 23 assists, outscored the Falcons 28-6 off turnovers.
Casey Verhagen scored a game-high 22 points for CUW (15-12), which shot 48 percent (24-for-50) from the floor.
The Warriors host second-seeded St. Norbert (21-6) on Sunday at 2 p.m. for the NACC Tournament Final at Time of Grace Center. This marks the third straight year WLC and SNC will square off with a NCAA Tournament berth on the line. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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