CHICAGO, Ill. (WLCSports.com) – Freshman
Bryce Appel (Edgerton, Wis.) led all scorers with a season-high 24 points and senior
Ja'Quell Chisom (Milwaukee, Wis.) recorded his fifth double-double of the season to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to an 83-68 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Illinois Tech on Saturday at Keating Sports Center.
The Scarlet Hawks (5-15, 3-10 NACC) broke an early 4-4 tie by scoring eight straight points to take their biggest lead of game four minutes in. The Warriors jumped in front for the first time in the game at 19-18 following a three-pointer from junior
Trey Luehring (Cedarburg, Wis.) with 10 minutes remaining. After one lead change and a pair of ties, WLC closed out the final 5:39 of the opening half on an 18-3 run to take a 46-31 advantage into halftime. Wisconsin Lutheran held IIT without a made field goal during the stretch. Chisom and Appel scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Warriors, who shot 55.2 percent from the floor.
WLC (5-14, 3-9 NACC) started the second half on a 10-2 scoring run, led by four points each from Chisom and Appel, to build a game-high 23-point lead at 56-33. A jumper from Chisom had Wisconsin Lutheran leading 62-42 at the 13:31 mark, before Illinois Tech rattled off 10 straight points to cut its deficit in half. The Warriors answered the Scarlet Hawks' biggest run of the game with eight consecutive points of their own, including six from freshman
Isaiah Mellock (Greendale, Wis.), to open up an 18-point lead with 6:25 to play. WLC's lead never dipped below 15 points the rest of the way, as it shot an even 50 percent in the second half.
Wisconsin Lutheran shot a season-high 52.4 percent (33-for-63) from the floor in the game. Appel finished with a season-high 24 points to lead all scorers, including five rebounds. Chisom collected his fifth double-double of the year with 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Mellock added 15 points, five rebounds, and a team-high four assists. Luehring chipped in nine points and a career-high six steals.
Nicolas Ortiz scored 17 points and Nick Galati added 14 for IIT, which shot 38.3 percent (23-for-60) for the game. Isaiah Dudley pulled down nine rebounds and John Davis III tallied five assists.
The Warriors begin a three-game homestand on Wednesday when they host Aurora (17-3, 12-1 NACC) at 7 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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