New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team took on the North Central University Rams on Wednesday evening at home, but couldn't overcome a 16-0 quick start by North Central and fell 80-57.

The Rams showcased their athleticism and anticipation of the ball and made advantageous shots from deep to quickly gain momentum. North Central scored 12 of its first 16 points from beyond the arc and forced an early timeout from the Knights.

North Central continued to display nice passing on back-door plays and found the open shooter on penetration to the rim from their guards.

North Central didn't let their foot off the gas and maintained a double-digit throughout much of the first half and extended their lead to 24 points on a Tanner Holtman 3-pointer (45-21) with just over four minutes to play in the half. The Rams would walk into halftime with a 27-point lead (50-23).

MLC played much better in the second half and held the Rams' to just 36 percent shooting, a big improvement from North Central's 55 percent clip in the first half. The Knights actually outscored North Central in the half 34-30, but the Rams still managed to never let MLC get any closer than 21 points.

Holtman and Carrington McNeal led their North Central squad with 15 points apiece.

Adam Loberger was the lone MLC player to get into double figures, scoring 10 points. Forward Luke Fix got into the act with eight points and seven rebounds to lead the MLC frontcourt.

MLC goes to 6-11, 2-5 UMAC and will look to shake things off with another conference game on the road at Northwestern. MLC hopes to sweep the Eagles for the season when they play them at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 1.