MINNEAPOLIS - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team was unable to slow down a hot-shooting North Central University team in a 101-83 loss in Wednesday's UMAC opener.

The Knights won the back and forth between the two teams in the first half and emerged from the first 20 minutes with a 45-43 lead thanks to 12 points from point guard Nate Lindloff and six three-point field goals in the opening half. 

The Rams took control to start the second half, however. NCU opened the half with a 13-2 run to take a nine-point lead and finished the half shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

NCU finished the game 16-31 from three-point range and also shot 51.4 percent overall from the field. The Knights made seven from downtown, including only one of 10 attempts in the second half. MLC finished the game shooting 38.1 percent from the floor.

Lindloff led the Knights with 16 points and five assists. Ian Paulsen scored 12 points and led the team with 13 rebounds and four steals. Richard Eckmann and Joshua Schroeder finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Jared Ruffin chipped in a career-high 12 points off the bench.

MLC fell to 0-7 on the season and 0-1 in UMAC play with the loss. NCU improved to 2-4 overall and 1-0 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, December 9, when they travel to Northland College for a game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.