DUBUQUE, IOWA – The Luther College men's basketball team is hotter than the sun. The Norse earned another key victory in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play Wednesday evening, downing Loras College 71-54 on the Duhawks home court. With the win, Luther's overall record improves to 8-14 and the team is 5-9 in A-R-C play.
WE ROLLING
The Norse lead Wednesday's contest from start to finish, as Daniel Webster (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius) got the good times rolling, scoring Luther's first basket 24 seconds into the game. While Loras answered on its very next offensive possession, the Norse offense was off and running, as the team went on a 9-2 run to hold an 11-4 lead over their hosts. Four different student-athletes scored during Luther's run before the Duhawks managed to score their third basket of the game. Still, the Norse were cautious not to get too cocky, as Loras very quickly made things interesting. After falling into a seven point deficit, the Duhawks went on a run of their own, cutting Luther's lead to 13-10 by the 10 minute mark. Things got even more interesting for Norse fans four minutes later, as an 8-6 run by Loras cut the lead to 19-18 with 6:12 remaining in the first half.
Tim Mewborn (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Widefield) stopped the bleeding for Luther, draining a crucial three on the team's next offensive possession to extend the lead back to four points at 22-18. From there, the Duhawks came close but never totally caught up to the Norse, as a (literal) last minute push from Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonio, Texas / Brandies) and Ben Gill (Sydney, Australia / Newington College) pushed Luther's lead to 33-27 at the half.
The Norse offense picked up right where it left off in the second half, as Luther continued to pound the paint coming out of the locker room at half. Thanks to the efforts of Lazinbat and Gill, the Norse found themselves with a 10 point lead 1:15 into the second, before Myke Shed (Teague, Texas / Teague) made it 42-29 with 18:04 remaining in regulation. While Loras whittled the Norse lead to single-digits three times in the final 18 minutes of play, the Duhawks never came close to catching Luther. Twice Loras managed to cut Luther's lead to eight, and both times, Lazinbat answered with a floating jumper or layup to extend it back to a comfortable 10 points.
The Duhawks last charge came with roughly 13 minutes left, as Myles Barry cut the Norse lead to 47-38. It was the last time Luther allowed its opponent to sniff victory. Mat Rohden (Joinville, Brazil Juan Diego Catholic) scored eight of the next 10 points for the Norse, all but ensuring a double-digit victory. It was Webster who truly sealed the deal for Luther. After scoring the first points of the night, Webster would score the last point of the night, as his free throw secured the 71-54 victory for the Norse.
TOP NORSE
- Andrew Lazinbat (San Antonio, Texas / Brandies) was unstoppable from the floor Wednesday evening, as he scored a career-high 19 points on 7-10 shooting with a 4-4 clip from three-point range. He added five rebounds to his stat line.
- Mat Rohden (Joinville, Brazil / Juan Diego Catholic) scored in double-digits for the second straight game, tallying 14 off the bench with four rebounds and two assists.
- Daniel Webster (Plano, Texas / St. Ignatius) closed the game with nine points, six rebounds and two steals.
UP NEXT
Luther will look to keep its win streak alive on Saturday, as the Norse face Central in a crucial A-R-C contest. Tip off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Pella, Iowa.
