NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team set a new program record for fewest points allowed in a 54-41 win over North Central University on Wednesday.
The 41 points allowed broke the previous record of 42, set during the 1998-99 season against Milwaukee School of Engineering.
MLC held the Rams to 34.0 percent shooting from the field, including 1-13 from beyond the three-point arc, while also forcing 17 NCU turnovers.
The Knights struggled from the outside on the offensive end, making just three of 19 attempts from downtown, but attacked the basket to the tune of 36 points in the paint.
NCU cut a seven-point MLC halftime lead to three points (35-32), but the Knights responded with a 9-0 run over the next 5:32 to push the lead into double figures and create separation for the first time in the game. From that point, the closest NCU could come was nine points as MLC closed out the win.
Ian Paulsen led MLC with 15 points to go with six assists and four blocks. He also tied for the team lead with three steals.
Richard Eckmann battled foul trouble to finish with 13 points and a team-best 11 rebounds.
Ethan Eisenmann and
Joshua Schroeder had strong games off the bench with eight and seven points, respectively.
MLC improved to 4-17 on the season and 2-10 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 6-14 this season and 3-9 in league play in defeat.
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, February 3, when they travel to St. Scholastica for a game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
