WINONA, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team battled back from a big early deficit, but was unable to come all the way back in an 89-75 loss at Saint Mary's in Wednesday's season opener.

The Knights struggled to start the game and trailed by 19 points early in the first 10 minutes of the first half and went into the half with a 47-30 deficit. 

MLC battled back to open the second half, however, cutting the SMU lead to one point at 56-55 with 10:41 to play. 

The teams went back and forth, with the Cardinals holding the Knights at bay until the final minutes when SMU made clutch free throws down the stretch to push the lead back into double figures and close out the game. 

The Knights finished with four players in double figures, led by 17 points from TJ Babinec. Richard Eckmann scored 15 points, while Joey Behm and Ian Paulsen added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Paulsen played a big role in the Knights' second-half comeback, scoring all his points after the break and helping MLC get easy baskets thanks to six steals and a team-best eight rebounds. Nate Lindloff finished with a career-high seven assists for MLC.

The Knights fell to 0-1 to start the season with the loss. SMU opened its season 1-0 with the win.

MLC will return to action on Sunday, November 19, when it travels to Lakeland for a game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.