NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team could not maintain a strong start in an 87-75 loss to Northland on Saturday.

It was a tale of two halves for the Knights, who shot 60.0 percent from the field on the way to a 41-33 halftime lead, but shot just 30.6 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from beyond the arc in the second half as the Lumberjacks roared back to outscore them 54-34 over the final 20 minutes.

The game remained close until the finale minutes, as the two teams were tied 68-68 with four minutes to play before the Lumberjacks finished the game with a 19-7 run down the stretch to secure the win.

While the offense went cold in the second half, the defense struggled to find answers for the Lumberjacks' Ryan Rawlings  and Kevon Powell. Rawlings scored 19 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, while Powell added 17 of his 22 points after the break.

Jack Heichelbech paced MLC with 18 points on 7-10 shooting from the field. Ezra Blumer added eight points and five assists. Joseph Hirsch, Micah Kieselhorst and Jacob Price each scored nine points.

MLC fell to 4-17 on the season and 1-9 in UMAC play with the loss. Northland improved to 5-16 overall and 4-6 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, February 11, when they host Minnesota Morris for a game scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.