Ashland, WI - Thomas Balge led all scorers with a career-high 26 points, the Knights connected on eight 3-pointers, and MLC maintained a double-digit advantage for much of their 78-65 win over the Northland College Lumberjacks on Saturday night.

MLC secured their second win of the season over the Lumberjacks in an effort that saw them up 38-24 at halftime. The Knights slowly built up their cushion with high quality shots near the basket and out near the perimeter, as MLC hit six of their eight triples in the first 20 minutes of action. Micah Kieselhorst got things going with a pair of 3-pointers to make it 32-18 with 5:19 remaining.

The Knights also shot nearly 77 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe in the first half, while the Lumberjacks failed to make their outside jump shots, shooting 1-of-7 on 14.3 percent from distance.

The Knights held onto their double-digit lead up until the 7:27 mark of the second half when Northland hit back-to-back 3-pointers (53-45). However, the Lumberjacks' attempt at a comeback ended soon after as MLC went on a 7-0 run to push their lead out to 60-45 that was highlighted by multiple Balge buckets near the rim.

From there, the Knights continued to execute from the free throw line and officially ended the game for their second win of the season.

MLC would also have the advantage in turnovers, with Northland coughing the ball up twice as much as MLC (22-11).

Balge also grabbed eight boards and shot 14-of-16 from the free throw line, while Kieselhorst added 16 points on 4-of-7 from downtown. Trey Lauber scored 13 points and made timely shots to keep MLC moving in the right direction.

MLC (2-12, 2-4) now heads over to UW-Superior for a 4:45 tip off on Saturday, January 20.

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