New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team had no trouble in their Saturday afternoon home contest with Northland College, taking down the Lumberjacks 82-66.

MLC had great success getting into the lane off of pick-and-rolls and the Knights' backcourt put a lot of pressure on Northland's defense as the MLC guards made sound decisions with the ball in the halfcourt offense. As a result, the Knights coasted to a 46-27 lead into the second half with firm control of the game.

However, Northland picked up their intensity in the second half and cut their deficit to 12 (67-55) at the 7:05 mark. Despite that, the Knights never felt as if they'd relinquish the lead and topped the Lumberjacks for the double-digit conference victory.

Adam Loberger caught fire in the second half, scoring his four 3-pointers and 19 of a game-high 24 points in the half. Thomas Balge (14 points), Benjamin Pearson (13 points), Benjamin Vasold (12 points) all shot 50 percent from the field to give MLC a favorable advantage. Vasold also the team with four assists and three steals.

MLC scored 25 points off of Northland miscues and shot over 45 percent from the field as a team.

The Knights go to 5-10 overall, 2-4 UMAC, and head to Maranatha Baptist on Monday, January 27, for a 6 p.m. start.