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Women's basketball
BLC 106, MLC 45
NEW ULM -- The Martin Luther College women’s basketball team had no answer for the explosive Bethany Lutheran College offense in a 106-45 loss on Wednesday in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action.
The Vikings entered the day tied at the top of the UMAC standings and showed why from the jump, outscoring the Knights 30-5 in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Vikings scored at least 20 points in each quarter, while the Knights were only able to reach that mark once with a 21-point third quarter. BLC finished the game shooting 52.2 percent from the field and made 16 of 32 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
MLC started very slow in the first quarter, but sophomore Emily Witkowski set a new career high for the second consecutive game with 26 points. She also tied for a team-high with nine rebounds and recorded three steals.
The Knights fell to 1-17 on the season and 1-9 in UMAC play in defeat. BLC improved to 15-4 overall and 9-1 in league action with the win.
Men's basketball
BLC 86, MLC 62
NEW ULM -- The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team was unable to keep pace with Bethany Lutheran College late in an 86-62 loss on Wednesday.
After a slow start offensively for both teams, the Vikings took control near the midway point of the first half on the way to a 38-28 halftime lead.
The Knights cut the deficit to 8 points with 10:38 to play following an Ian Paulsen layup and had chances to cut the Vikings’ lead down even further, but three consecutive empty possessions allowed BLC to push the lead back into double figures. Following Paulsen’s layup, the Vikings outscored the Knights 9-2 over the next five minutes, and then built on the lead in the final minutes.
MLC held the Vikings to 46.8 percent shooting from the field, but were outscored 23-6 at the free throw line. The Knights finished the game shooting 39.4 percent.
Paulsen had a big night, scoring a game-high 21 points while adding 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
Nate Goelzer also played a key role off the bench. He came into the game with three points on the season, but scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting (2 for 3 from beyond the 3-point arc) in 24 minutes.
The Knights fell to 5-13 on the season and 2-8 in league play in defeat. BLC improved to 14-5 overall and 9-1 in UMAC play with the win.