Staff photo by Steve Muscatelllo Manitowoc Lutheran’s Santana Lomibao (5) defends as Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Jace Marotz (22) takes a shot during the first half Friday at Martin Luther College in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s defensive effort in the first half was too much as the Chargers defeated Manitowoc Lutheran 63-43 at the MLC Tip-off Tournament on Friday night.

Jace Marotz led the Chargers with 23 points and six rebounds as the Chargers remained unbeaten (6-0).

MVL held Manitowoc’s top scorer Trey Zastrow to just 3 points (1-of-14 shooting) in the first half. Zastrow finished with 12 points in the game. Santana Lomibao led the Lancers with 13 points.

“We knew that he [Zastrow] was a good shooter coming in so we had to contest every shot, try to get him out of rhythm,” Marotz said. “We knew that we had to finish it with the defensive rebound, we knew that if we could hold them to just one shot, it could be a really good game tonight.”

MVL jumped out to an early lead in the first half thanks in part to that defensive effort. The Lancers shot just 17% in the first half and 34% in the game.

Baskets by Kyreis Harrison and a 3-pointer by Eli Schoof put the Chargers up 18-8 with 5 minutes left in the half. MVL went up 28-15 on a 3-pointer by Dunwa Omot and MVL took a 32-17 lead into halftime.

The Lancers cut into the lead in the second half, but they were never able to get to within 10 points. Mason Cox had a putback basket underneath the hoop to give the Chargers a 43-29 lead and later, Marotz hit a couple of baskets to give the Chargers a comfortable 56-37 advantage.

Harrison finished with 12 points for the Chargers and he pulled down 10 rebounds. Cox had 9 points and nine rebounds. Omot and Jacob Norris each finished with 7 points.

Marotz said it’s been a good start to the season for his team.

“It’s going really well,” he said. “Practice has been really good, intensity every day. We’re getting better and better on defense, which is a good thing, and we know that if our offense isn’t there, we can still win with our great defense.”

MVL outrebounded the Lancers 52-32.

The Chargers host Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Tuesday.