DECORAH, Iowa – It wasn't the season ending the Luther College men's basketball team was hoping for. For the first time in several years, the Norse found themselves in the hunt for an American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament berth. With a Luther win and Coe loss, the Norse would find themselves in the six-team conference tournament for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Unfortunately, a trip to the playoff was not in the cards for the Norse, as Luther's late rally came up short in a 65-53 loss to the University of Dubuque. The Norse close the 202-23 season with an overall record of 9-17 and a 5-11 mark in A-R-C play. 

BY THE NUMBERS
Luther faced an uphill battle from the get go, as the red hot Spartans jumped out to a 10-2 lead just minutes into the game. However, the Norse certainly made things interesting, as the bench ignited several of Luther's first half runs. Fueled by baskets from Tim Mewborn (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Widefield) and Ben Gill (Sydney, Australia / Newington College), the Norse pulled within four of Dubuque's lead, whittling it down to 15-11. However, the Spartans got hot from three-point land, extending their lead to 24-11 in under two minutes. 

Luther was not about to go away quietly, as the Norse scored 10 points in the closing five minutes of the first half to cut the Spartans lead to 32-21. Back-to-back baskets from Mitchell Schmieder (Wellman, Iowa / Iowa Mennonite) fueled the run for the Norse, as he seemingly swung the momentum in the home team's direction. When Gill opened the second half with an easy layup under the basket, things seemed to finally be going Luther's way. However, fouls and turnovers by the Norse led to scoring runs for Dubuque, resulting in a 43-31 lead for the Spartans with 13:32 left in regulation. 

Luther put together plenty of momentum altering plays, especially in the closing minutes of regulation. Down by 14 with roughly six minutes to go, Schmieder came up with a huge block on defense, which resulted in a fastbreak layup for senior Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague). From that moment on, the Norse had some pep in their step, as a step back jumper from Daniel Webster (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius) pulled Luther within 12 before free throws by Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonio, Texas / Brandies) and Schmieder made it a nine point game.

Down 59-48 with 1:17 remaining in the game, the Norse did everything in their power to give themselves the opportunity to win. Unfortunately, the deficit was too much to make up for Luther. Even Schmieder's late three wasn't enough for Luther, as the Norse were forced to foul to stop the clock with under one minute remaining in the game. Unfortunately for Luther, Dubuque connected on all its chances from the charity stripe, resulting in the 65-53 loss. 

TOP NORSE 

• Mat Rohden (Joinville, Brazil / Juan Diego Catholic) once again led Luther in scoring in Saturday's loss, scoring 14 points on 6-8 shooting. The sophomore also tallied four rebounds, two assists and a steal in the game.
• Ben Gill (Sydney, Australia / Newington College) and Mitchell Schiemder (Wellman, Iowa / Iowa Mennonite) both scored 10 points Saturday afternoon, with Schiemder securing six rebounds for the Norse. 
• Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague), a catalyst of Luther's defense all season, closed the game with four steals, tying his season and career high. It marks the seventh multi-steal game for Shed this season, who closed 2022-23 with 17 total.