ST. PAUL - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team closed the 2021-22 season with a 112-78 defeat at University of Northwestern-St. Paul (UNW) in the first round of the UMAC Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday. 

The Eagles were in control from the jump, building a 60-37 halftime lead and never looking back the rest of the way to advance to Friday's semi-final round of the tournament. 

UNW shot 12-27 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half, and when they couldn't get the outside shots to fall, scored 20 points off 11 offensive rebounds as they built their big halftime lead.

For the game, the Eagles went 16-41 from distance and outscored the Knights 32-2 in second-chance points. 

Joseph Hirsch led MLC with 23 points and seven rebounds in his final game. Seth Veers made all five of his attempts on the way to 13 points (all in the first half). 

The Knights finished the season with a record of 5-21 following the loss. UNW improved to 20-6 with the win.