New Ulm, MN - The MLC men's basketball team headed into Thursday evening's game with North Central with a chance to still make it into the UMAC Tournament with a win and a few other scenarios. However, despite a hard-fought battle, MLC came up short against North Central 105-87.

The Knights had no problem scoring the ball, but the Rams got whatever they wanted near the hoop as their athleticism was on display for both halves. North Central scored 60 of its 105 points in the paint and shot 58 percent from the field. The Knights had over half of their points from inside the key as well (48), but the balanced output from the Rams' starting five and their overall team speed played a big factor in this one.

The Rams had six players in double figures to help them get over the century mark, while MLC's Benjamin Pearson matched a career high of 29 points to lead the Knights. Pearson had an efficient game, shooting almost 50 percent with two steals, while also getting it done from the charity stripe, going 9-for-10.

Adam Loberger finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and four steals, and Benjamin Vasold put up nine points and had a team-best four steals. Before the game, MLC also honored three players for Senior Night as Thomas Balge, Ethan Kjenstad, and Luke Fix played their final game in a Knights' uniform. Balge scored over 1,000 points in his career, while Kjenstad finished with 842 points. Fix compiled 60 blocked shots in his three seasons playing for the Knights, which led MLC.

Overall, the Knights finished their 2025-26 season 11-14, 5-7 UMAC, and fifth in the conference. The Knights recorded the most wins in a season for the MLC men's basketball team since the 2008-09 season, when they went 17-9 overall, 11-3 UMAC atop the UMAC standings.