New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team battled hard in its 77-64 loss to UW-Superior on Friday night.

The Knights trailed by as many as 14 points in the early stages of the first half, but responded by cutting the deficit to seven at halftime (32-25), following a Trey Lauber 3-pointer and a Thomas Balge layup.

MLC brought it to within four points (32-28) when Ethan Kjenstad connected on a straight away triple right out of the gate in the second half. The Yellowjackets would go on several scoring runs for the remainder of the half, but MLC wouldn't go away and made it a single-digit (56-47) deficit due to another Lauber 3-pointer.

The Knights made it 58-52 when Seth Veers drilled a shot from deep, but the J'Vaun Walker executed on a four-point play from the outside and the Yellowjackets went up 62-52 with 5:48 left. 

UW-Superior would hit their free throws down the stretch and successfully clinched the No. 2 seed with the win over MLC. 

Although MLC lost, the Knights displayed great toughness and resiliency throughout the 40 minutes of action. 

MLC shot 38.5 percent (10-for-26) from 3-point territory, while the Yellowjackets struggled from the perimeter, shooting 18.2 percent (4-for-22). However, UW-Superior gained a big advantage in paint production and outscored the Knights 40-24.

J'Vaun Walker led the Yellowjackets with 20 points, while Josef Fahrenholtz picked up 14 points and seven rebounds.

Lauber finished with a team-high 18 points and eight boards, while Balge scored 13 points.

MLC goes to 4-20, 2-11 and will have one final game this season when they host Northland College for senior day on Saturday, February 17 at 4:45 p.m.