Staff photo by Ari Selvey Martin Luther College’s Benjamin Vasold works to put up a shot during an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball game against North Central University Wednesday at MLC.

NEW ULM — Martin Luther College couldn’t get its offense going as it fell to North Central University 80-57 in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball game.

MLC scored just 23 points in the first half to North Central’s 50, putting the game out of hand quickly.

Adam Loberger scored 10 points with five rebounds in the game for MLC, while Luke Fix had 8 points and seven rebounds. Thomas Balge added 7 points for the Knights.

The Rams were scorching hot from 3 in the first half, hitting 8 of 19 shots from behind the arc and 21-38 shots from the floor. North Central managed 50 first-half points despite not shooting a free throw.

The Knights, meanwhile, made just 10 shots in the first half, struggling with turnovers as the team finished the game with 18. When the team did get a shot of, North Central’s overwhelming defense limited the Knights to just 39% shooting from the floor on the game.

North Central started off the game with a 16-0 run, with four 3-pointers falling for the Rams during the stretch. MLC got on the board with a mid-range jumper from Ben Pearson.

Loberger followed that with a long 3-pointer, but North Central continued to score and build up a 28-5 lead. MLC got back on the board with a pair of putbacks by Fix, and a layup from Trey Lauber made it a 32-16 game. Loberger made another 3-pointer to put the score at 34-19, but North Central went on a 11-2 run to take a 45-21 lead and force an MLC timeout.

Fix scored on another putback to get MLC going again, but North Central scored twice more to end the half with a 50-23 lead.

MLC fared better in the second half, starting off with a mid-range jumper from Loberger, and the teams traded buckets for several possessions. The Rams kept MLC at arm’s length, however, and subs were rotated in with several minutes to go.

MLC (6-11, 2-5) travels to Northwestern on Saturday.