NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team was unable to shake off the rust from the holiday break in an 82-61 loss to St. Scholastica on Wednesday.

The Knights struggled on the offensive end to start the game, shooting just 25.6 percent from the field as the Saint built a 32-22 halftime lead.

MLC was able to get the offense going in the second half with 39 points, but CSS also picked up its game on that end with 50 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the field on the way to securing the win.

MLC finished the game shooting 35.0 percent overall and did not have better luck from beyond the three-point arc (4-16) or the free throw line (1-5). 

CSS countered with 44.7 percent shooting overall for the game and made nine fo 23 attempts from downtown.

Jonathan Riebe paced four MLC players in double figures with 11 points off the bench. Jacob Price added 10 points off the bench, while Jack Heichelbech and Austin DeNoyer also scored 10 points apiece. Ethan Eisenmann led the team with nine rebounds.

MLC fell to 2-9 on the season and 0-4 in UMAC play in defeat. CSS improved to 5-8 overall and 3-2 in conference action with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Saturday, January 11, when they host UW-Superior in a game scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to be played at UWS, but was moved to an MLC home game due to a facilities issue.