New Ulm, MN - The MLC men's basketball team faced off against Maranatha Baptist on Tuesday evening. The two squads had been off to a slow start to the season entering the game and both teams were in need of a win. The Knights made the plans necessary down the stretch in a tightly contested second half and secured their first win of the season with a 59-54 victory. 

The Knights had struggled from 3-point territory to start the first half, as the Sabercat's 2-3 zone caused them to shoot low percentage shots. However, the Knights kept battling and got some momentum off some outside shooting towards the end of the half, keeping them within striking distance only down by 2 (30-28).
   
To start the second half, Maranatha Baptist took advantage of their size with Goodnews Akonofua blocking shots down near the interior. The Sabercats had extended their halftime lead to seven and had appeared ready to separate themselves from MLC, but the Knights refused to give up and chipped away at the lead with multiple 3-point jumpers from Nathan Miller and Micah Kieselhorst.  The Knights also received a key block from Ethan Kjenstad down the stretch, which gave MLC a chance near the end.
   
MLC would then retake the lead from an Ezra Blumer 3-pointer that gave the Knights a 55-54 lead after keeping the possession alive with two offensive rebounds. The 3-pointer sent the Knights over the top and they would knock down multiple free throws to secure the four point win. The Knights played with persistence throughout and head coach Greg Holzhueter expressed his support of the team when he said, "I am so proud of my players in what they accomplished tonight. I would call this a gutsy win. Nothing came easy for us in this game. We did not play especially well. We couldn't get outside shots to drop against the MBU zone, but our guys kept fighting. I am thrilled for our players that they were rewarded with a win after this effort."

Blumer had his best performance of the season and had an all around game, finishing with 10 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists, and five steals. The junior guard was aggressive in crashing the glass and was very active out on the perimeter going after steals and loose balls. Holzhueter added, "Ezra refused to let us lose and just kept making plays in compiling a near triple double."

Kieselhorst would also contribute with 17 points and six rebounds. The Knights controlled the glass as a team, collecting 42 rebounds with almost half of them (20) coming from the offensive side of the court.

MLC (1-11, 0-3) will travel up to St. Paul to play their fourth UMAC game of the season when they play Northwestern on Friday, January 13th at 5:30 pm.