The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team set a new program record for fewest points allowed in a 54-41 win over North Central University on Wednesday in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference action.

The 41 points allowed broke the previous record of 42, set during the 1998-99 season against Milwaukee School of Engineering.

MLC held the Rams to 34 percent shooting from the field, including 1-13 from beyond the 3-point arc, while also forcing 17 NCU turnovers.

The Knights struggled from the outside on the offensive end, making just three of 19 attempts from downtown, but attacked the basket to the tune of 36 points in the paint.

Ian Paulsen led MLC with 15 points to go with six assists and four blocks. He also tied for the team lead with three steals.

Richard Eckmann battled foul trouble to finish with 13 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Ethan Eisenmann and Joshua Schroeder had strong games off the bench with eight and seven points, respectively.

MLC improved to 4-17 on the season and 2-10 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 6-14 this season and 3-9 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday when they travel to St. Scholastica.

Women’s basketball

The MLC women’s basketball team was unable to hold a second-half lead in a 72-71 UMAC loss to North Central on Wednesday.

The Knights led 37-31 at halftime and pushed their lead to 48-31 thanks to an 11-0 run to start the third quarter.

NCU made a run to cut the deficit to 57-47 at the end of the third quarter, and took the lead (70-68) with 17 to seconds to play.

MLC had several chances at the free throw line to tie the game in the final seconds, but were unable to convert to give NCU the win.

Grace Schultz led four MLC players in double figures with 16 points along with 10 rebounds. Jade St. Germaine scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds. Emily Witkowski and Hailey Johnson added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

MLC fell to 5-16 on the season and 3-9 in league play in defeat. NCU improved to 7-12 overall.