New Ulm, MN - MLC played its first home game since January 28 on Friday evening when they took on the North Central Rams. The two squads met back in mid-January, where the Rams defeated MLC 89-50. The Knights gave another hard fought effort in the first half, but got a similar result to the first contest and lost 95-52.

    In the first couple of minutes of action, NCU forward Micah Filer, picked up his 2,000th career point in college on a mid-range jumper and it was clear that the gameplan was to feed him the rock from the get go. The Rams jumped out to an early lead, but the Knights responded with a 7-0 run themselves to stay within striking distance. From there, NCU utilized their size down low and cruised into halftime with a 16-5 run to go up 45-29. The Rams shot 51.4 percent from the field in the first half, while MLC shot 31.4 percent.

    The second half began with more of the same from the Rams and they continued to pad the lead with a 25-6 scoring run, that was fueled by a Filer 3-pointer off an MLC turnover. The Rams would continue that hot shooting from the outside and went 5-of-9 in the second half from a variety of players. 

    MLC's turnovers in the second half didn't bode well for their comeback attempt and the Knights' offense seemed bothered by the length and athleticism from multiple NCU defenders. As a result, the Knights only shot 8-of-33 from the floor on 24.2 percent and fell to the Rams for a second time this season.

    MLC was led in scoring by Seth Veers, who finished the game with 10 points. 

    The Knights fall to (2-22,0-13) on the season and will play their final game of the season at home on Saturday, February 18 against Northwestern, where they will celebrate Senior Day.