NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team opened conference play with a 67-59 win over North Central University on Wednesday.

The Knights got off to a strong start, but a 16-2 NCU run gave the Rams a 29-20 lead with under three minutes to play in the first half. 

MLC answered that run with one of its own, out-scoring the Rams 12-2 in the final 2:57 of the first half thanks to four three-point field goals to take a 32-31 halftime lead.

The Knights controlled the game for much of the second half, building a lead as high as 12 points on the way to the win.

MLC held the Rams to 36.7 percent from the field on the defensive end, while shooting nine of 25 from beyond the three-point arc on offense. 

The frontcourt duo of Jack Heichelbech and Ian Paulsen led the way for the Knights, scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively on a combined 14-21 shooting from the field. Heichelbech scored 10 of his points in the second half, while Paulsen added three blocks. 

Austin DeNoyer led the Knights on the perimeter with 14 points, while Ethan Eisenmann was steady all around with a team-high eight rebounds while holding NCU's Jared High to only nine points.

MLC improved to 3-4 on the season and 1-0 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 4-5 overall and 0-1 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, December 8, when they host Northland College in a game scheduled to tip off at 6:45 p.m.