WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball made a late push at home today, but fell short to lose 87-83 against undefeated Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday, Dec. 3.

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Scoring Summary

• First Half
  • The Knights struck first with a three from Keagan John in route to a 7-2 lead to open the game
  • The Vikings kept chipping away at the lead, but the Knights offense kept scoring
  • Wartburg's lead hovered around nine points with just under 11 minutes left in the first half
  • The Orange & Black went on a 11-0 run led by two John three pointers to take a 37-19 lead with 8:45 to play in the first
  • Bethany Lutheran responded with a 12-3 run of their own to bring the Vikings within five points
  • The lead got all the way down to three before a made layup with the foul from Jack Molstead gave the Knights a six-point lead at halftime
  • 45-39 Wartburg at half
• Second Half
  • The Vikings came out of the break hot with three made three pointers to start the second half
  • Five minutes into the second half Bethany Lutheran tied the game at 57-57
  • Each team traded baskets before the Vikings settled out in front with a 63-59 lead
  • Bethany Lutheran stretched the lead to seven points with 8:09 to play
  • After a short run led by Marshun Williams the Knights trailed 75-74 with 4:16 left to play
  • Despite trailing 82-74 with 2:36 to play, another Molstead and-one sparked a 9-2 run to put the Knights down one with 38 seconds to play
  • The Vikings made both free throws to make it a three point game and Wartburg was unable to force overtime with their last possession

Top Performers

• Williams
  • 16 points
    • 7/13 FG
    • 1/4 3P
    • 1/3 FT
  • 11 rebounds
    • Seven defensive
    • Four offensive
  • Four assists
  • Two steals
  • One block
• Molstead
  • 23 points
    • 9/18 FG
    • 2/3 3P
    • 3/3 FT
  • Six assists
  • Two rebounds
• John
  • 16 points
    • 5/10 FG
    • 3/6 3P
    • 3/5 FT
  • Six rebounds
  • Five steals
  • One assist

 
Notes/Streaks

• The all-time series moves to 8-3, still in favor of the Knights
• Wartburg shooting percentages:
  • FG: 46.4%
  • 3P: 35%
  • FT: 57.1%
• Richie Rosenblum led the Knights bench with seven points
• Williams recorded his second-straight Double-double
  • Third of his career
• Molstead has scored 22+ points in 5/7 games so far this season

 
Next Time Out
The Knights will continue non-conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 7 on the road against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.