MLC men drop game to Dordt in last minutes

NEW ULM -- Martin Luther College came back from a 14 point deficit to fall just short of a victory, losing 55-52 to Dordt in men's basketball Thursday.

The Knights drop to 1-5, while Dordt boosts their record to 6-4.

Although the men expected a tough game against Dordt, they came out in the first half a little off balance, with little ball movement and not running the plays.

The men took an early lead when junior forward Tom Engelbrecht drove down the lane, and was fouled on his shot. The basket was good, and he made the free-throw to lead 3-2.

But that was the Knights' only lead of the night.

The men dropped to 12-3 early in the half, and brought it back to 12-9 with shots by Dan Unke outside, Jeff Loberger low, and Unke again, with a steal and fast break shot.

Midway through the half, the Knights again dropped, to trail by 11. With the Dordt Defenders playing some tough defense, they maintained their lead, ending the half 32-21.

In the first half, the Knights shot just 28 percent from the floor, while Dordt shot nearly 39 percent.

In the second half, the MLC men picked up the pace, and as their offense came into line, so did their defense. The second half, the Knights upped their field goal percentage to 32 percent.

The Knights came out with more intensity, and in the first several minutes came within ten points of Dordt when Loberger put some spin moves on the defense to make a basket down low.

In the last ten minutes of the game, the Knights made more of a push, when first senior Phil Huebner sunk a three pointer, then Loberger made a steal and went down court for another three to make it 47-41.

After a lull, the Knights again snuck up on Dordt. Engelbrecht put back an offensive rebound for two, and sophomore Micah Walz stole the ball, then scored on a give-and-go for three to trail only by two, 51-49.

With just 10 seconds remaining, Walz made another three point play when he grabbed an offensive rebound, and was fouled when he made the two points. He sunk the free throw to close Dordt's lead to one.

But Dordt made two free throws, and although Huebner nearly made a three-pointer at the buzzer, Dordt held their lead.

Engelbrecht and Loberger led the Knights in both scoring an rebounds. Engelbrecht had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Loberger made 15 points, and had seven rebounds.

Unke made four steals, and Walz had three. MLC had more steals than Dordt -- the Knights had 12 to Dordt's 8.

Scoring for Dordt were Evan Beimers, with 15, and Tony Reitsma, with 11. Beimers recently surpassed the 1000 point mark for his career.

The Knights next play at Hamline today at 3 p.m.