Courtesy of Adam Hussman/MLC SID

NEW ULM – The Martin Luther College men’s basketball team put on its best overall team performance of the season on Tuesday against Carleton College. In a battle between two Knights, MLC finished on top in a high-scoring contest, 104-97.

MLC shot the ball at a very efficient rate, especially in the second half, when they shot almost 57 percent from the floor in the half. MLC not only had success in the paint on drives to the hoop, but they had their best shooting game of the year, shooting 8 of 13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. Their 3-point shooting proved to be critical, especially down the stretch, as they had an answer for Carleton’s buckets. With Carleton up 92-91 with 1:44 to go, MLC responded right away with a corner 3-pointer made by Trey Lauber on a dish from Thomas Balge (94-91). MLC followed that shot up with a pair of 3-point daggers from Balge and Adam Loberger.

As the MLC Knights held a 100-95 lead with 19 seconds left, MLC continued to hit their free throws late again to finalize the victory. The win comes off the heels of MLC’s first win in school history over another MIAC school, Bethel University (88-83), on Saturday.

MLC hit several team highs in the win over Carleton, including points (104) and points in a half (62). It was also the Knights’ cleanest game of the season, committing only four turnovers in the game. Their previous low was seven turnovers heading into the game.

Carleton was led by Matt Drake’s 38 points.

MLC had five players finish in double figures. Benjamin Pearson made timely plays on both ends of the court and totaled 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Loberger scored 25 points and had nine rebounds, while Balge (17 points) got into a good rhythm and played his best game since being back from injury. Ethan Kjenstad added 14 points for the Knights, while Lauber had 10.

MLC now has a few weeks off until it gets back onto the court after the Holidays.