THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.  –  The Luther College men's basketball team is making the most of its trip to California. The Norse won their second consecutive game Wednesday night, as they routed Whittier College in the first game of the California Lutheran Tournament in Thousand Oaks, California. Fueled by season best shooting numbers, Luther left Cal Lutheran's gym Wednesday evening with an 85-62 victory, improving to 3-8 overall with a 0-4 mark in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play. 

BY THE NUMBERS 
The Norse were on fire from beyond the arc in the first half, as Luther scored over half its first half points from three range. The Norse shot a season best .529 from the perimeter, making 10 of 19 shots en route to a 40 point performance in the first half. Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague) was once again Luther's top three-point threat, as he led the way with nine points in the first 20 minutes of play, while Cole Peters (Zumbrota, Minn. / Zumbrota-Mazeppa) and Mikkel Schutte (Houston, Minn. / Houston) scored eight points a piece. 

Maybe more impressive than the Norse three-point shooting was their first half defensive efforts. For the second straight game, Luther forced more turnovers than it committed as a team, as the Norse forced 11 Poet turnovers in the first half alone. Luther was also able to convert on those offensive changes more often than not, scoring 10 points off turnovers alone to hold a 40-33 lead entering the locker room at half.

While the Norse offense looked good in the first half, it was even better in the second. After shooting .461 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play, Luther shot a season-high .531 in the second thanks, in large part, to the hot hand of Daniel Webster (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius). After struggling early, Webster scored 10 of his team-leading 13 points in the second half of the game, tying his career and season highs in the process. He additionally ignited a 9-1 scoring run for the Norse, helping them bolster their lead to 59-45 by the 14 minute mark. 

Whittier would cut the lead to 59-48 a few seconds after Mat Rhoden (Joinville, Brazil / Juan Diego Catholic) gave Luther its 14 points advantage, but that was the closest the Poets would ever come to catching the Norse. Fueled by multiple scoring runs, Luther jumped out to a 77-52 lead on Webster's third made three of the night and sufficiently buried any hope of a comeback by Whittier. While the Poets battled, going so far as to outscore the Norse in the closing seconds, the damage was already done, as Luther went on to win the game by a final score of 85-62.

TOP NORSE

• Daniel Webster  (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius) scored in double-digits for the second straight game, tying his season-high with a 13 point performance. The junior scored 10 of his team-leading points in the second half thanks to 5-7 shooting from the floor, including a 3-5 clip from three-point range. Webster additionally led the team in rebounds with eight and added three assists and two blocks to his stat line. 
• Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague) and Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) also scored double-digits for Luther Wednesday night. Shed closed the game with 11 points after shooting .500 from the floor, while Lazinbat hit double-digits for the second straight game thanks to his 10-point performance. 

UP NEXT
The Norse will close their trip to California on Thursday, December 29 as they take on the tournament hosts, California Lutheran, in the afternoon. Tip off is 6:00 p.m. CT in Thousand Oaks, California.