NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team closed its season with a 76-71 win over North Central.

The win was due in large part to the efforts of departing seniors Luke Rothe, Erich Neumann and Phil Bunkowske, who combined for 37 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in the win.

The three seniors helped the Knights to a 14-point halftime lead, as Neumann scored all nine of his points and Rothe scored seven points and dished out six assists.

The Rams made a big run in the second half, but three-pointers by Bunkowske and Rothe in critical moments kept NCU at a distance for most of the second half.

NCU tied the game 60-60 with 6:11 to play, but the Knights responded with a 12-4 run, capped by a Jeffrey Parker three-pointer, over the next 5:30 to push the lead back to eight.

Rothe finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and finished his career with an MLC-record 378 assists.

Bunkowske made many critical plays on both ends of the court, grabbing a team-best 10 rebounds to go with 12 points, four assists and two steals. Ian Paulsen added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Knights.

MLC finished the season 2-23 overall and 1-15 in UMAC play thanks to the win. The Rams fell to 8-15 on the year and 4-12 in UMAC play in defeat.