Staff photo by Ari Selvey Martin Luther College’s Seth Veers (14) passes the ball behind his back during an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball game against University of Northwestern Wednesday at MLC.

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College Knights took home a wire-to-wire win over the University of Northwestern on Wednesday, defeating the Eagles 82-72 in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball game.

The win snapped a four-game away losing streak for MLC as the Knights returned home from a stint on the road.

Adam Loberger led MLC with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Thomas Balge had 16 points. Benjamin Vasold added 14 points and five rebounds, while Ethan Kjenstad had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Loberger got the Knights going with a 3-pointer in the first, one of four made on the day by the freshman. MLC took a 14-9 lead on another 3-pointer from Seth Veers, and a 3-pointer from Vasold extended the advantage out to 17-9. Northwestern stayed within 10 points, battling back to a 23-18 game on a layup from Jacob Hoefs, but the Knights pushed the lead back out to 33-23 after a pair of Balge free throws. A layup by Vasold ensured the Knights were able to take a 43-37 lead into halftime.

Northwestern made a push early in the second half, cutting the lead down to 45-43, but MLC’s Ethan Kjenstad hit a 3-pointer to spark a 8-0 MLC run to go up 53-43. MLC continued to maintain a steady lead until the Eagles switched to a full-court press late in the second half as the Knights went up 79-64 on a Loberger and-one. The Knights had some difficulty setting up the offense at first, but managed to steady the ship before Northwestern made any sizable comeback as MLC won the game by double-digits.

MLC (4-7) hosts UW-Superior on Saturday.