MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin Lutheran College went on a scoring blitz in the second half and the Lakeland University men's basketball team dropped an 86-72 decision to the Warriors Friday night in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference North Division play.

The Warriors kept their place atop the NACC North Division standings, improving to 4-0 both overall and in conference. The loss ended Lakeland's three-game win streak and put the Muskies at 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the NACC North Division.

Lakeland led for much of the first 30 minutes, but Wisconsin Lutheran heated up midway through the second half and pulled away in the late going.

After Earl Lewis (Jr.-Madison, Wis.) hit a three-pointer to put the Muskies back in front 52-49 with 11:33 to play, the Warriors scored 24 points in less than five minutes. Jacob Stoltz hit three three-pointers, with his last one giving WLC a 73-61 lead with 6:25 left.

The 24-9 spurt put Lutheran ahead for good, even as the Muskies were able to hang around. A jumper by Trenton Nickel (Sr.-Kiel, Wis.) brought Lakeland back within eight at 73-65, but WLC responded with nine straight points and led by as much as 18 in the final minutes.

Miscues plagued Lakeland in the loss as the Muskies committed 16 turnovers, twice Wisconsin Lutheran's total of eight. WLC capitalized on those mistakes, scoring 20 points off turnovers, and also outrebounded the Muskies 60-43, including 25 offensive rebounds. The Warriors also outscored Lakeland 46-26 on points in the paint.

The Muskies were in good shape for a while, leading the entire first half and holding a slim 31-30 lead at halftime. Lakeland took advantage of cold shooting by the Warriors early, leading by as many as eight in the first half when Cam Jaeger (Fr.-Oostburg, Wis.) scored on a layup to make it 24-16 with 5:23 left before halftime.

Wisconsin Lutheran was ice cold in the first half, connecting on just 13 of 45 (28.9%) shots from the field and missing all twelve of its three-point attempts. The Warriors heated up in the second half, making 50.0% of their shots (20 of 40) including 7 of 16 from long range. Meanwhile, Lakeland shot just 35.3% (12-for-34) from the field in the second half and finished shooting 38.1% (24 of 63) for the game.

Nickel led the Muskies with 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc and also added a career-high nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double. No other player scored in double figures, with Jaeger and Matt Sechman (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) adding nine points each. Greg Barber (Sr.-Miami, Fla.) came off the bench and provided a spark especially on the defensive end, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 13 minutes of action.

Stoltz and Trevor Stiede each scored a game-high 18 points for the Warriors. Alex VanCrete also added a double-double for Wisconsin Lutheran, scoring 13 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

The two teams square off against each other again Saturday night at 5 p.m. in Milwaukee.