New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team began its season with a home contest with Wisconsin Lutheran College on Friday evening. Both teams would play in front of a large crowd, but it was the Warriors who would come out on top, beating MLC 78-49.

WLC would set the tone from the very beginning and put together a full court pressure to disrupt the Knights timing on offense, forcing MLC into 20 turnovers throughout the 40 minutes of action.

MLC was also unable to get much going in their half court sets due to the length and lateral quickness of the Warriors and as a result, WLC converted the Knights' miscues into 23 points off turnovers.

Despite the turnover issues, MLC did shoot 41.7 percent from the field when they did a get a high quality shot off. Sophomore Thomas Balge led MLC with an efficient 12 points in just 20 minutes on the court. Seth Veers played hard on both ends of the court and had eight points and five boards at the forward position.

Meanwhile, the Warriors displayed the depth that helped them win a NACC regular season championship last season and had four players in double figures for the game. All-American, Ryan Broeckel, led his team with a near double-double (12 points, nine rebounds) as the 6'6" junior controlled the paint.

MLC will look to regroup with a quick turnaround for its afternoon game with MSOE tomorrow, November 11, at 2 p.m. The Knights will host the Raiders in the LSC gymnasium.