New Ulm, MN - Ethan Kjenstad scored 21 points, Adam Loberger finished with 20 points and five rebounds as the Martin Luther College men's basketball team came back to defeat Dakota State 67-63 in an exhibition game on Wednesday evening.

The two schools played last season around this time of the year in an exhibition game with Dakota State taking that one 77-65 in the LSC gymnasium. On Wednesday, Dakota State held the lead for the whole first half, going up by as many as 11 (20-11) with 11:35 remaining. Towards the end of the first half, the MLC offense got their legs under them and converted on some of their open jump shots to cut the halftime deficit to 36-28.

Kjenstad got going offensively in the second half, scoring 13 of his 21 points, and took what the defense was giving him, connecting on his mid-range jumper at the high post. 

Still, the Trojans seemed to have a response every time the Knights made a few plays and had a 12-point lead with a little over nine minutes remaining. That was until MLC went on a 15-4 run that gave the Knights life again as they made it a 61-60 game following a pair of Kjenstad free throws.

A Loberger 3-pointer then tied things up 63-63 and the freshman converted on both of his trips to the free throw line to score MLC's final seven points, handing them the victory. 

Loberger wasn't the only freshman who came up clutch for the Knights, as Benjamin Pearson and Benjamin Vasold made winning plays on both ends of the court. Pearson finished with 10 points and five assists on 50 percent shooting from the field, while Vasold had seven points and a team-high in rebounds (7). Junior Luke Fix also gave MLC a spark with his hustle and energy defensively, leading the Knights with four blocks.

MLC shot 24-52 from the field on 46.2 percent shooting and made 12-13 from the free throw line, serving them well especially down the stretch.

Although the final result and stats don't count towards the season, the win is a good confidence-builder for the men's basketball team as they look to continue improving for the regular season starting up in over a week.

Until that time, there is one more exhibition contest at home with the Knights playing Waldorf this Saturday, November 2, at 2 p.m.