DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Luther College men's basketball team has been so close in its last few American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) games. Wednesday night, the Norse once again were within striking distance of their first conference win of the 2022-23 season, hanging with the heavily favored University of Dubuque until the final whistle. Luther was unable to leave Dubuque, Iowa with a victory, falling to the Spartans by a final score of 70-60. The Norse record now stands at 3-13 and they are 0-8 in A-R-C play. 

BY THE NUMBERS
Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague) championed Luther's offense in the first half, as his three pointer 1:30 into the game set the tone. In fact, Shed's three spurred a 10-2 run to open the game, as the Norse were firing on all cylinders offensively and defensively In fact, an Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonia, Texas / Brandeis) layup gave Luther a 17-8 lead with exactly 10:00 remaining in the first half. 

The Spartan offense, though, wasn't going to be held at bay for long. The hosts went on a run of their own, outshooting the Norse 24-10 in the closing nine minutes of the first half, allowing Dubuque to walk into the locker room holding a 32-27 halftime lead. Luther was not deterred by the late run, as the visitors once again regained momentum and a hot hand to open the second half. Thanks to baskets from Shed and Daniel Webster (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius), the Norse were able to keep pace with Dubuque until a layup from Lazinbat pulled them within one at 39-38. A Ben Gill (Sydney, Australia / Newington College) basket would eventually give Luther the lead and spur a two minute span of lead changes. Neither team lead by more than a possession until 11:11, when the Spartans went on a 7-0 run to jump ahead 51-49 with 9:59 remaining in regulation. 

The Norse, though, were not deterred. After Dubuque went up 64-51 with five minutes to go, Luther managed to whittle the lead to 64-58. However, the Norse never quite caught the Spartans, as they fell by a final score of 70-60. 

TOP NORSE

• Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague) put together a career day on the court, scoring a career-high 15 points on 5-6 shooting and scored all his points from beyond the arc. 
• Ben Gill (Sydney, Australia / Newington College) scored 12 points and tallied a team-leading five rebounds, while Aidan Bailey (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) closed the game with 11 points.
• Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonia, Texas / Brandeis) closed the game with four steals. 

UP NEXT
Luther will be back in the Regents Center for its next A-R-C game, set to take place Saturday, January 28. The Norse will host Nebraska Wesleyan at 4:00 p.m. in Decorah, Iowa.