Minneapolis, MN - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team had one more chance to pick up a nonconference win over a MIAC school when they went on the road to face Ausburg University on Monday night. MLC was neck-in-neck with the Auggies for the first half and kept up offensively with their counterparts, only trailing 44-41 at halftime.

However, Augsburg went into another gear for the final 20 minutes and beat the Knights 86-70.

MLC kept the game within reach for the first part of the second half as well and made it a 62-61 game with just over nine minutes remaining. From there, the Auggies managed to pull away due to multiple turnovers from the Knights. Augsburg forced 18 MLC turnovers and gained a balanced scoring attack from their starting five to ultimately seal the victory.

The Auggies had five players in double figures, as Trent Gomez led with 18 points while Andy Stafford finished with 17. Elias Batala put up 15 points and made an impact with five steals.

Adam Loberger paced the Knights in scoring, with a 24-point effort. The freshman shot 50 percent from the floor and knocked down five three throws. Tom Balge finished with 12 points and grabbed six boards in the MLC backcourt.

Both teams were identical in their 3-point percentage (33.3) and were almost the same in a lot of other statistical categories including rebounds (42-39 Augsburg edge). 

MLC (3-7, 0-2) will go and play their third conference game of the season on Wednesday, January 15, against Northwestern. The Knights take on the Eagles at 5:30 p.m. in the LSC gymnasium.