SUPERIOR, Wis. - Sophomore forward Ian Paulsen scored a career-best 30 points, but the Martin Luther College men's basketball team fell just short of its first road win of the season in a 73-70 loss at UW-Superior on Saturday.

Paulsen finished the game 14-20 from the field and also led the Knights in rebounds (eight), assists (four) and steals (three). He scored 20 of his points in the first half on 9-10 shooting to help the Knights enter the halftime break with only a three-point deficit at 36-33.

MLC was efficient on the offensive end in the second half, shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 63.6 percent (7-11) from beyond the three-point arc as they traded the lead back and forth with the Yellowjackets throughout the half.

Trailing by two in the final minute, the Knights were unable to make several attempts to tie or take the lead, and then one final three-point attempt at the buzzer missed the market to give UWS the win.

The Knights outscored the Yellowjackets by 18 points from beyond the three-point arc, but UWS did its damage at the free throw line (outscoring the Knights 17-2) and off MLC turnovers (18 points off nine MLC miscues).

Richard Eckmann was the team's second-leading scorer with 13 points. TJ Babinec had a strong game off the bench with 11 points with the help of three three-point field goals.

MLC fell to 1-9 overall and 1-3 in UMAC play with the loss. UWS improved to 3-8 on the season and 1-3 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, December 30, when they travel to Luther College for a game scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m.