DECORAH, Iowa - The Luther men's basketball team won its first conference game of the season as they defeated Wartburg 80-59 on Wednesday. Aidan Bailey tallied 20 points and seven rebounds. Luther improves their record to 6-13 overall and 1-9 in the American Rivers Conference. 

The first half had four lead changes and five ties. Ben Gill scored the first points of the game with a layup inside the paint. The opening minutes were tight with the Norse holding a one point advantage at 6-5 at 15:49. Then the Knights went on a 7-0 run. Luther evaporated the Wartburg lead reclaiming the lead with back-to-back buckets from Eros Carpio. Midway through the half, Wartburg tied the game for a fourth time at 18 with 10:48. On the next possession Gill hit a jumper that gave the Norse the lead for the rest of the game. Luther held a 34-31 lead heading to the locker room. 

Out of the break the Norse would see their lead swell as they cruised to a 10-0 run to start the second half. The Knights would stop the run with a pair of free throws at 16:38 but Luther kept finding ways to score. As the half reached the midway point, Bailey knocked down four straight three-pointers in a row for a 16-point 62-46 advantage at 7:29. Later, Andrew Lazinbat gave the Norse their largest lead of the night at 23 with 2:37 left in the contest. And Patrick Bockman scored the final points of the game with his layup inside for the 80-59 victory. 

Wartburg is now 3-16 overall and 2-8 in the A-R-C.

The Norse scored 20 points in the paint and 22 points came from the bench. Luther also won the boards with 38 rebounds. 

TOP NORSE

• Bailey was three points shy of his season high. Which he set against Wartburg earlier this season.
• Randall Days almost had a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. He also had three steals. 
• Lazinbat tallied 11 points. 
• Daniel Webster had a team high of five assists. 

UP NEXT
Luther hosts Buena Vista on Saturday, Jan 27 at 4 p.m.