Wisconsin Lutheran edged by MSOE in season finale

MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team concluded its 2011-2012 season on Saturday by suffering a 73-70 defeat to the MSOE Raiders in a Northern Athletics Conference Challenge game at the Recreation Complex.

After a steal and layup by Julion Griffin (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) put the Warriors up 4-2 early, the Warriors would stay in front of the Raiders for the remainder of the first half. A three-pointer by Nate Bauer (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) put the Warriors up 17-9 at the 13:14 mark of the first half. Another shot from downtown by Bauer two minutes later gave WLC a nine point advantage, 20-11. Bauer would go 3-4 from the three-point line in the half, leading the team with 11 points. A jumper by MSOE's David Wilson with 51 seconds left cut the Warriors' lead to 36-29 heading into halftime.

Wisconsin Lutheran shot 46.9 percent (15-for-32) from the floor in the first half, while MSOE shot 39.3 percent (11-for-28).

A three-pointer from Tim Demuth (Franksville, Wis./Racine Lutheran), one of nine WLC triples in the contest, put the Warriors up 42-32 two minutes into the second half. Alex Merbach (Kaukauna, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) gave WLC its largest lead of the game, 12 points, a minute later on a layup. MSOE's John Cording's layup at the 12:41 mark began a 12-2 Raiders run and gave the visitors a 53-52 lead with 9:13 remaining in the game. A jumper by Cynerick Osinaike gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game at 65-58 with four minutes left to play.

WLC cut the MSOE lead to 70-67 when Russell Strutz (Sturtevant, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) hit a three-pointer with 48 seconds left in the game. Bauer cut the deficit to one with another three pointer with four seconds left, 71-70. Garrison Glowniak sealed the win for the Raiders with two free throws with two seconds on the clock. Demuth's last-second three-point attempt missed left as time expired.

Bauer led all scorers with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Demuth added 12 points, while Merbach finished with 11 in his final game for Wisconsin Lutheran. Strutz grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. For the game, WLC shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the field. The Warriors struggled from the free-throw line by making just nine of their 20 attempts. 

Glowniak led three Raiders (10-15, 7-9 NAC) in double figures with 17 points. Michael Ricciardi recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. MSOE out-rebounded WLC, 45-37. The Raiders went 19-for-28 from the charity stripe in the game. 

Wisconsin Lutheran finishes its 2011-2012 season with a 5-20 overall record and a 4-12 record in the NAC.