Martin Luther College Men's Basketball

Knights fall just short of Conference leading Saints

  After falling behind by as many as 20 in the second half, the Knights, aided by junior center Keith Schleis's 12 second half points would come as close as three to the UMAC leading Saints before St. Scholastica pulled away for a 87-83 victory and sweep of the Knights this season.  Both teams came out firing in the first half, with the Knights and Saints shooting 57% and 64% respectively from the field.  St. Scholastica's senior guard Derek Johnson was the difference-maker in the first 20 minutes of play, connecting on six shots from downtown. Johnson led the Saints with a game-high 21 points, 20 scored in the first half.

    Down 50-42 starting the second half, the Knights offense went cold, allowing the Saints to balloon to a 64-44 lead with 14:35 remaining.  The Knights would come storming back, going on a 7-0 run and a 10-0 run, capped off by sophomore forward Nate Nass's three-point play, cutting the deficit to 70-73 with three minutes left in the game.  Saints guard Andrew Schmitz would silence the deafening crowd and the Knights rally by hitting back-to-back three pointers, giving the Saints a nine point lead.  The Knights kept it interesting right up until the very end, with senior point guard Jeff Dolan and senior sharp-shooter Drew Kock hitting some clutch shots behind the arc.  Time would run out on the Knights, who have played close ball with the best team in the conference, losing both games to St. Scholastica by a combined seven points. 

    Next up for the Knights is Northland College.  Tip-off is set for 5:00pm.