New Ulm, MN - MLC headed into Tuesday night's game against Lakeland University with their first win of the season against Maranatha Baptist on Saturday. The Knights can now tack on another "W" in the win column after defeating the Muskies 91-79 in a nonconference contest.

Lakeland beat MLC 100-90 in Overtime around the same time of year at their place last season with Ethan Kjenstad and Thomas Balge putting up 25 apiece. This year, the Knights received a big-time effort from freshman Adam Loberger, who finished with 36 points, seven boards, and three steals on an efficient shooting night going 13-for-19 (68 percent). The forward made an impact around the rim on various strong finishes near the hoop and converted on 7-of-8 free throw attempts while knocking down three 3-pointers on five shots taken from the outside.

Loberger dropped 24 of his game-high 36 points in the first half and the Knights also benefited from snagging 11 offensive rebounds to jump out to a 44-37 lead at the break.

MLC recaptured a double-digit lead following a Loberger "and one" on his miss to go up 56-45, but the Muskies wouldn't quit and trimmed their deficit 62-61 at the 9:06 mark of the second half.

While it looked like Lakeland found their groove on both ends of the court, the Knights' offense heated up again and went on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes of action. During that scoring run, MLC picked up a 3-pointer in the corner from Benjamin Vasold and Balge gave a spark near the basket in his first game of the season. From there, the Knights kept the Muskies at a healthy distance and made their free throws to walk out with the win.

Kjenstad tallied 16 points, while Benjamin Pearson added 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Lakeland was led by Asanjai Hunter, who showed his range from deep, scoring 21 points, and Tim Ward, who had 18 points. Isaiah Hammond, the main player from last season's matchup, finished with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).

MLC shot well across the board as a team and had a field goal percentage of 48.3 percent on 29-of-60 from the floor. The Knights ended with a 43.8 percent clip from 3-point territory and made 26-of-31 free throws for 83.9 percent.

MLC (2-2) moves on to their next game at home versus Lawrence University on Saturday, November 23, at 3 p.m.