ST. PAUL - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team was unable to slow down the high-powered offense of UMAC-leading Northwestern-St. Paul in a 101-79 defeat on Saturday.

The Eagles raced out of the gates in the first half, shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the three-point arc on the way to a 53-35 halftime lead. 

MLC did its best to hang around in the second half with the help of 12 points off the bench from Micah Kieselhorst, but was unable to cut the deficit closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

UNW finished the game shooting 52.9 percent overall and made 11 total three-pointers. The Knights countered with 42.9 percent from the field and went 9-23 from downtown.

Austin DeNoyer led the Knights with 21 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists. Ian Paulsen finished with 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, and also became the 12th player in MLC men's basketball program history to score at least 1,000 career points.

You can read more about Paulsen's 1,000 career points if you click here. 

MLC fell to 4-17 on the season and 1-12 in UMAC play in defeat. UNW improved to 16-6 overall and 12-1 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return home on Wednesday, Feburary 12, when they host North Central in the home finale. That game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.