MEN’S BASKETBALL

MLC 98, Maranatha Baptist 81

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team secured their first win of the season in a 98-81 victory over Maranatha Baptist on Saturday afternoon in a nonconference men’s basketball game.

MLC’s offense was humming early on in the first half and led the Sabercats 56-39 at the break thanks in large part to 60 percent shooting from the field, including 42.9 percent from the outside.

The MLC offense moved well without the ball and there were many open looks inside and out, as six players were in double figures for the game.

Adam Loberger led the Knights with 24 points, while Benjamin Pearson finished with 16 points and went 4 for 5 from deep to go along with no turnovers in the backcourt. Seth Veers made plays on both ends of the court finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Junior Ethan Kjenstad added 15 points and had six rebounds. The MLC starters would sit out for much of the second half with the bench being emptied near the 13:30 mark when the Knights took a commanding 78-54 lead.

MLC surpassed the 100-point mark last season in one of their wins over the Sabercats and were two points away from doing that again this year. However, Maranatha Baptist showed improvement in the game offensively, led by big man Will Schultz (21 points).

MLC (1-2) continues non conference play with another home contest against Lakeland on Tuesday, November 19, at 5 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MLC 76, Maranatha Baptist 44

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College women’s basketball team controlled their matchup against Maranatha Baptist from start to finish on Saturday for a 76-44 win over the Sabercats.

Freshman Ava Stein recorded her first career start for the Knights and led MLC with 13 points in only 13 minutes on the court. MLC jumped out to a 27-6 lead after the first quarter and walked into the half with a 49-18 advantage that pretty much signaled the end of action for the Knights’ starters.

Plenty of MLC reserves got to see the court in this one and the team finished with 50 bench points, as freshman Erin Pulice picked up a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds).

Wilhelmina Wenz grabbed 10 boards herself and Sophomore Anna Kieselhorst scored 11 points. As a team, MLC shot 33-for-76 (43.4 percent) and improved to 2-1 overall this season with back-to-back wins at home.

MLC will face much tougher competition against a MIAC school in St. Catherine on Wednesday, November 20, at 7 p.m. in St. Paul.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Morris 41, MLC 7

MORRIS — The Martin Luther College football team defeated Minnesota Morris in early October 21-14 in game one between the two schools, but the Cougars responded with a 41-7 victory over the Knights on Saturday to avenge their previous loss in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football game.

Neither team scored in the first period, as the Knights forced a Cougars’ fumble inside MLC territory as Daniel Biermann recovered the loose ball. However, the Cougars did convert on a 5-yard touchdown run from Izayah Boss on their first drive of the second quarter to go up 7-0.

From there, both defenses continued to play well and make stops and that carried over into the second half where the score remained 7-0 until the 6:44 minute mark of the third period when Minnesota Morris made it 14-0. Following that score, the Cougars quickly flipped the game upside down and were given great field position on their next two drives that came courtesy of a couple of MLC fumbles.

Minnesota Morris converted on both of the MLC turnovers and scored 21 points within two minutes of game time to go up 27-0.

MLC’s touchdown came late in the fourth quarter when Jack Pittenger came into the game at quarterback and found Andrew Raasch for a 15-yard touchdown to put the Knights on the scoreboard.

COLLEGE CROSS-COUNTRY

Habben, Schibbehut lead MLC at regional meet

NORTHFIELD — A few members of the Martin Luther College cross-country team had one final outing at the NCAA Regionals hosted by Carleton College on Saturday.

The top seven MLC finishers of the UMAC Championship competed at Regionals and the quickest women runners for the Knights were Jemimah Habben and Katelyn Mensching. Habben took 100th overall among 222 runners with a time of 24:39.7, while Mensching (103rd) was five seconds behind Habben for a mark of 24:44.5. Maya Habben completed the 6K in 26:36.5 for 173rd as Hope Sulzle crossed the finish line in 27:03.0 for 186th overall.

Senior Micah Schibbehut ran for the MLC men and placed 162nd out of 220 runners in the 8K (28:17.7) and Eliott Heiderich took 173rd, clocking in at 28:57.8. Daniel Ertmann was the third MLC runner to finish before 30 minutes, coming in 184th with a time of 29:42.9.