Decorah, Iowa— The University of Northwestern men's basketball team lost a hard-fought battle to Luther College Saturday night with a final score of 71-79. In the high-scoring, non-conference match-up against the Norse, the Eagles struggled to take a comfortable lead over the home team. The Eagles collectively shot 39.7 percent of field goals and 37.5 percent of threes, which wasn't quite enough to secure the win despite a handful of stand-out players on the court.

With a level playing field right off the bat, the Eagles and Norse battled back and forth with a small advantage for Luther as they led a few points ahead. Luther slowly gained a six point lead three minutes into the half before a Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) trey narrowed their lead after a two minute lull in action as both teams continued to miss shots. Luther's top scorer, Jake Martin, started to heat up as he drained a three with 8:57 left in the half as the Norse led by just four points. Morrell was feeling the heat for the Eagles as he made two additional baskets from behind the arc in the next minute of play. Nathan Meyers grew the lead to 29-21 as he also caught the three point bug with just under six minutes in the first period. Unfortunately the home team secured a nine point lead before Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) came in clutch with two treys in the last minute, going into halftime down 33-38 to Luther. First half standouts for the Eagles included Morrell, shooting 3 for 3 behind the arc, and Gisler adding 10 points of his own.

Northwestern was prepared to fight as they came out strong in the second period. Luther's lead was trimmed to a two point lead before Northwestern finally took a 43-42 lead thanks to Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian)'s two shots from downtown four minutes into the half. As both teams battled in the next few minutes, the teams were tied at 45 with 11 minutes remaining in the game. Gaining ground back, Luther held a slight lead for the next five minutes until Sprenger's jumper and three-pointer brought the Eagles to a 62-60 lead with 4:45 left in the game. The Norse refused to let up as they quickly regained a lead with a six point run before a home team timeout was called on the floor. Luther added another shot in the paint putting them at a 69-64 advantage and Jake Martin's deep three to follow caused the gym to erupt in Norse applause with just over a minute left. With a 79-71 victory over Northwestern, the last minute push proved successful for the home team with an eight point run.
 
Luther (4-4) had four players in double digits including Jake Martin (16), Nathan Meyer (13), Cody Kliethermes (12), and Aaron Huber (11). Martin and Meyer both went 3 for 5 behind the arc contributing to Luther's high-scoring offense.

Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) stepped up in the second half, leading the Eagles with 16 points. Other double-digit contributers included Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) (15), Michael Carney (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) (13), Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) (12), and Caleb Janson (Pierz, Minnesota/Pierz Healy) (10). Janson led UNW in rebounds with 10. Carney and Morrell capitalized on their shots behind the arc, both going 3-4 for the night.

Northwestern (1-8) will take on the University of Wisconsin-Stout as the Eagles host on Saturday night at 5 p.m. Following Saturday's game, UNW will travel to Northfield, Minn. on Monday to face St. Olaf College at 7 p.m. as they continue non-conference play.