DULUTH, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team could not contain St. Scholastica down the stretch of an 88-70 loss on Saturday.

The Knights held a 32-23 lead in the first half after starting the game 13-17 from the field, but the Saints roared back in the final eight minutes of the half to take a 47-40 lead into the locker room.

MLC battled back and trailed only 65-62 with 8:19 to play in the game, but the Saints held the Knights to only three field goals the rest of the way and finished the game on a 23-8 run to secure the win.

The Knights out-shot the Saints 45.2 percent to 41.3 percent for the game, but CSS forced 16 MLC turnovers that turned into 22 points, and also out-scored the Knights 27-9 from beyond the three-point arc. 

Ian Paulen led MLC with a season-high 24 points on 10-13 shooting from the field. Austin DeNoyer and Ethan Eisenmann each finished with 11 points, while Jack Heichelbech and Jacob Price each scored nine points apiece. 

MLC fell to 4-13 on the season and 1-8 in UMAC play with the loss. CSS improved to 9-9 overall and 6-3 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Wednesday, January 29, when they travel to Bethany Lutheran for a game scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.