WAUWATOSA, Wis. – The Lakeland University men's basketball team put a big scare into the seventh-ranked team in NCAA Division III with a terrific first 20 minutes, but Wisconsin Lutheran College rallied with an even better second half to win 90-78 Wednesday night at WLC's Time of Grace Center.

The Muskies built a 20-point halftime lead but the Warriors shot 71.9% on the way to scoring 62 points in the second half and coming all the way back. Ranked No. 7 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, Wisconsin Lutheran improved to 17-1 overall and 10-1 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference with its 24th straight win at home.

A 12-0 run late gave WLC its first lead since the game's first five minutes, completing a comeback from way down and finally putting the hosts in control. Ja'Quell Chisom converted a three-point play with 4:29 left to put the Warriors ahead 74-71, their first lead since 6-5 in the first half, and Lutheran extended the lead to 78-71 on a jumper by A.J. Vos with 2:16 to play.

After fighting off the hosts' fierce rally for most of the second half, Lakeland could only get back as close as four at 80-76 with 1:28 left when Isaiah Hammond (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) hit a three-pointer, his third triple of the game. Wisconsin Lutheran would close it out on a 10-2 run the rest of the way, hitting 8 of 11 free throws down the stretch.

The Muskies (6-12 overall, 5-6 NACC) nearly pulled off their biggest win in years, leading for almost all of the game's first 35 minutes. Lakeland shot a sparkling 58.1% in the first half, held the Warriors to 27.8% shooting and led for the final 15:34 of the half, steadily building the lead.

Tim Ward (Jr.-Plainfield, Ill.) made his return from injury and came off the bench to score 13 points and grab eight rebounds in the half, and Hammond added 10 points. The Muskies made 18 of 31 shots from the field, including 6 of 11 three-pointers, while WLC hit just 10 of 36 shots in the first 20 minutes. Gage Cornell (Jr.-Manitowoc, Wis.) and Hammond hit back-to-back three-pointers just before the break and Lakeland took a 48-28 lead into halftime.

The Warriors have one of the most experienced teams in the country, though, with five seniors including four fifth-year seniors, and the defending NACC champions came out in the second half with a vengeance, needing just over 3 1/2 minutes to trim the deficit in half. Jacob Stoltz and Jacob Hefle hit three-pointers just 24 seconds apart and the Muskies' lead was down to 51-43 with 16:29 left in the game.

WLC continued to chip away and tied the game at 57-57 on a layup by Stoltz, but the Muskies responded and built the lead back up to six at 65-59 with 9:05 left after three-pointers by Parker Braun (So.-Brillion, Wis.) and Emmitt Konieczny (Fr.-Marshfield, Wis.) and a jumper by Cornell. Lakeland led by five again when a steal by Braun and a layup by Cornell made it 71-66 with 5:37 left before the Warriors made their game-turning run to go ahead.

Hammond scored 19 points and added five rebounds and five assists and Ward added 17 points plus nine rebounds. Peyton Mrotek (Jr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) and Cliff McCray (Sr.-Madison, Wis.) added nine points each and Mrotek pulled down seven rebounds. The Muskies finished shooting 49.2% (31 of 63), including 10 of 25 (40.0%) from three-point range.

Ryan Broeckel scored 22 points to lead Wisconsin Lutheran, which featured all five starters scoring at least 14 points. Grayson Goetz was the Warriors' No. 5 scorer with 14 points but also added 11 assists. WLC made 23 of 32 shots in the second half and finished shooting 48.5% for the game (33 of 68).

Lakeland is back on the road Saturday to face Benedictine University at 1 p.m. in Lisle, Ill.