Men’s basketball

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team was unable to hold a 10-point halftime lead against the hot-shooting Storm of Crown College in a 93-74 Upper Midwest Atheletic Conference loss on Wednesday.

The Knights raced to a 43-33 lead after shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the first half while holding the Storm to only 40 percent from the field.

The Storm roared out of the locker room for the second half, however, shooting 72.7 percent from the field and making five of seven attempts from beyond the three-point arc in the final 20 minutes. During a 10-minute stretch that began with 17:50 to play in the game, Crown made 13 consecutive field goals and scored on 14 of their 15 possessions as it turned a six-point deficit into an 18-point lead.

Crown finished the game shooting 57.1 percent from the field compared to 43.3 percent for MLC.

Austin DeNoyer led the Knights with 18 points and five assists. Joshua Schroeder and Richard Eckmann added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Nate Lindloff grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points.

MLC fell to 2-14 overall and 1-7 in UMAC play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday when they host Northland College.

Women’s basketball

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — The MLC women’s basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start in a 67-60 UMAC loss at Crown College on Wednesday.

The Knights started the game by making their first two field goals in the opening minute, but was held without a field goal for more than 10 minutes as they fell behind 21-6 early in the second quarter.

MLC cut the deficit to 30-24 at the half, but the Storm once again pushed the lead into double figures as they closed the third quarter with a 47-34 edge.

The Knights battled to cut the Storm lead to five in the final minutes, but Crown was able to hold them off to secure the seven-point win.

MLC finished the game shooting 32.8 percent while the Storm hit 47.3 percent, including five of their eight attempts from beyond the three-point arc. The Storm also out-rebounded the Knights 46-36.

Jade St. Germaine led MLC with 24 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks. Grace Schuultz added 14 points and seven steals, while Emily Witkowski scored nine points.

MLC fell to 4-13 overall and 2-6 in UMAC play in defeat. Crown improved to 7-9 on the season and 3-5 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, January 20, when they host Northland in a game scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m.