NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team lost 80-60 in its home opener against Saint Mary's University on Tuesday.

The Knights struggled with turnovers in the first half against the SMU full-court trapping defense, allowing the Cardinals to build a 20-point halftime edge. SMU forced 13 MLC miscues in the half, and held the Knights to 35.5 percent shooting.

MLC was stronger against the trap in the second half, but the deficit was too much to overcome the rest of the way.

T.J. Babinec led MLC with 17 points, five steals and four assists. Josh Rathje joined him in double figures with ten points.

Josh VonDeylen and Austin Eisenmann tied for the team lead with six rebounds.

SMU was led by Connor Kaiser, who scored 22 points on 9-15 shooting.

MLC fell to 0-5 in defeat, while SMU improved to 2-0 on the season following the win.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, December 4, when they host St. Scholastica in the first game of the UMAC season. That game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.