After a slow start, the Lakeland College men's basketball team dug in defensively and turned the game around in sudden fashion, using a dominating first half run to lead a 91-76 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College Tuesday night.

The Muskies gained a measure of revenge for two losses to the Warriors last season, defeating WLC for the first time since 2012. Lakeland also improved to 5-0 overall and is 2-0 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

The Muskies did it with a balanced effort, with four players scoring in double figures and seen scoring at least seven points. That effort extended to the defensive side as well with seven players finishing with steals, and Lakeland flexed its muscle in particular in the first half to completely reverse the game's early flow.

Lakeland has had trouble with Wisconsin Lutheran (3-3 overall, 1-2 NACC) in recent meetings, and the game's early minutes appeared to be following a familiar script. The Warriors hit their first three-pointer five seconds into the game, pounded the offensive glass early and built an early eight-point lead in the first five minutes.

WLC took a 16-10 lead after a jumper by Kyle Stelse with 14:23 left in the first half, but the game took a dramatic turn thereafter. The Muskies would score the next 19 points to turn a six-point deficit into an 11-point lead, and would continue the run to eventually lead by as many as 22 at 45-23 late in the half. In all, Lakeland outscored the guests 35-7 over a 12-minute span to seize control of the game.

The Muskies buckled down defensively, holding Wisconsin Lutheran scoreless for better than six minutes. The Warriors ended the first half shooting just 26.2% (11 of 42), including just 5-for-28 over the final 15 minutes of the half.

The Muskies took a 47-28 lead into halftime and were never in serious danger the rest of the way. Lakeland pushed the lead back up to 22 at one point, and though the Warriors continued to battle, they would get no closer than nine points at 79-70 late.

Kurt Jansen (Sr.-Wrightstown, Wis.) and Eric Nygaard (Fr.-Plymouth, Wis.) both scored 18 points each, Zach Van Engen (Jr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) totaled 13 and Travis Kell (So.-Madison, Wis.) added 12. Nygaard and Kell also had seven rebounds each and Van Engen finished with five assists.

The Muskies shot 51.5% for the game (34 of 66) and also were an excellent 18 of 21 from the free throw line (85.7%). Lakeland also scored 52 of its points in the paint and got 37 points from its bench.

Jake Jarnigo scored 26 points to lead the Warriors. Scott Siemers added 18, and WLC shot 56.7% in the second half (17 of 30) to finish shooting 38.9% (28 of 72).

Lakeland faces another stiff test Thursday when it travels to face Concordia University Wisconsin at 7 p.m. in Mequon.