MOUNT VERNON, Iowa  –  The Luther College men's basketball team is officially back in the win column. In their final game before Christmas, the Norse earned an impressive road victory over Cornell College, snapping their eight-game skid with a commanding 75-64 win. Three different student-athletes scored career-high points in the win, helping Luther improve to 2-8 overall with a 0-4 mark in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play. 

BY THE NUMBERS 
Luther kept pace with the Rams for the majority of the first half, as the Norse forced multiple Cornell turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. In fact, Luther won the turnover battle in the first half, forcing six while only committing one as a team. However, the Norse found themselves in a 27-20 deficit at the five minute mark, as they were unable to capitalize on their offensive opportunities. In the closing five minutes of the half, Luther's offense came to life, as the Norse went on a 10-2 scoring run to hold a 30-29 halftime lead over the Rams. Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) was on fire for Luther in the opening 20 minutes of play, as he scored a team-leading seven points thanks to a perfect shooting percentage in the first half. 

The second half was highly entertaining, as the two teams traded shots and leads, pretty much from start to finish. For every shot one team made, the other had an answer, keeping things fun and exciting for the fans watching both in person and on the stream. After nearly 13 minutes of trading leads, the Norse finally seemed to gain an advantage, as a five-point run from Aidan Bailey (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) gave Luther a 56-50 lead with six minutes remaining in the half. 

Cornell managed to cut the deficit to 59-57 by 4:59, but seemed to spur the Norse offense into action once again, as Bailey, Lazinbat and Ben Gill (Sydney, Australia / Newington College) scored seven points in a two minute time span to boost the lead to 66-59. Still, the Rams hung around, whittling Luther's lead to 70-64 with 1:19 left in the game. In the end, it was no harm, no foul for the Norse, as they went on to win the game 75-64. 

TOP NORSE 

• Aidan Bailey  (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) put together the best offensive performance of his career, as he scored a career-high 25 points on 10-17 shooting, including a 4-6 mark from three-point range. His steal in the closing minutes of regulation also cemented a win for the Norse, as it prevented Cornell from tying the game after whittling the lead to four points. 
• Daniel Webster (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius) and Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) also scored double-digits for Luther Friday night. Webster scored a career-high 13 points on 4-8 shooting, while Lazinbat closed with a career-high 12 points after putting up near perfect shooting numbers from the floor. 
• Webster and Mikkel Schutte (Houston, Minn. / Houston) led the team with six rebounds.

UP NEXT
Luther will enjoy a nice break before returning to action on Thursday, December 29. The team will take on Whittier College at 6:00 p.m. CT in Thousand Oaks, California.