Men’s basketball

DULUTH — The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team could not contain St. Scholastica down the stretch of an 88-70 loss on Saturday.

The Knights held a 32-23 lead in the first half after starting the game 13-17 from the field, but the Saints roared back in the final eight minutes of the half to take a 47-40 lead into the locker room.

MLC battled back and trailed only 65-62 with 8:19 to play in the game, but the Saints held the Knights to only three field goals the rest of the way and finished the game on a 23-8 run to secure the win.

The Knights out-shot the Saints 45.2 percent to 41.3 percent for the game, but CSS forced 16 MLC turnovers that turned into 22 points, and also out-scored the Knights 27-9 from beyond the three-point arc.

Ian Paulen led MLC with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Austin DeNoyer and Ethan Eisenmann each finished with 11 points, while Jack Heichelbech and Jacob Price each scored 9 points apiece.

MLC fell to 4-13 on the season and 1-8 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play with the loss. CSS improved to 9-9 overall and 6-3 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Bethany Lutheran for a game scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

Women’s basketball

DULUTH — The MLC women’s basketball team was unable to get anything going on the offensive end of the court in a 72-35 loss at St. Scholastica on Saturday.

The Knights were unable to get anything going from the start against the Saints as they were held to 15.4 percent shooting and committed 15 turnovers on the way to a 37-15 halftime deficit.

MLC took better care of the ball in the second half, but could not find the range from anywhere on the court as it finished the game shooting 20.3 percent from the field, 13.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc, and 43.8 percent from the free throw line.

The defense was able to force the Saints into a tough shooting night (35.9 percent overall and 16.7 percent from downtown), but CSS made up for those percentages by shooting 23-of-34 from the free throw line in the win.

Emily Witkowski led MLC with 8 points. Kati Aguilar and Erika Gosch each scored 6 points.

The Knights fell to 1-16 on the season and 1-8 in UMAC play in defeat. CSS improved to 6-12 overall and 4-5 in league play with the win.

MLC will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to Bethany Lutheran for a game scheduled to tip off at 7:15 p.m.