MORRIS, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team was unable to overcome a poor stretch to end the first half in a 77-67 loss at Minnesota Morris on Wednesday.

The Knights and Cougars battled back and forth in the first half, with Nate Lindloff pulling the Knights within one point at 26-25 with 4:37 to play. UMM closed the half with a 10-0 run, however, with the help of four MLC turnovers to take a 36-25 lead into the break.

MLC kept within striking distance and cut the deficit into single digits several times in the second half, but was never able to get closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Cougars held on for the win.

UMM shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first half and took advantage of a 19-10 rebounding edge to outscore the Knights 8-0 in second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes. The Cougars finished the game shooting 49.1 percent compared to 41.9 percent for MLC.

The Knights shot well from distance, making eight of 19 attempts from beyond the three-point arc, and also forced 20 UMM turnovers that led to 17 MLC points.

Four MLC players finished in double figures, led by Richard Eckmann with 14 points. Austin DeNoyer added 12 points, while Ian Paulsen finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

MLC fell to 5-9 overall and 2-4 in UMAC play in defeat. UMM improved to 6-8 on the season and 4-2 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, January 12, when they play at Northwestern in a game scheduled to tip off at 4:45 p.m.