Norse Battle League Leader - Fall Short
Jan. 5, 2008
Luther battled league leading Buena Vista toe-to-toe for 29 minutes before falling 56-47 this afternoon here in the Regents Center. The Norse led the majority of this ball game including having a seven-point advantage (38-31) with 11:39 remaining. During these final minutes, the Norse shooting eyes went cold, while the Beavers put together a 25-9 run en route to the victory.
Luther led at intermission 27-23, holding the Beavers to just 29% from the field. In the second half, the Beavers stepped up their defense forcing the Norse to shoot 30%, while at the same time connecting on 12 of 21 on their offensive side of the court, outscoring the Norse 33-20.
Austin Bildstein, who was questionable for this afternoon's contest due to a badly sprained ankle, played 25 minutes and led the Norse with 13 points. Ryan Kuhn was the only other player to reach double digits with 10. Nnamdi Okolue led the team in rebounding with eight.
The Buena Vista guard trio of Kyle Stribe, Andre Wagner and Rahn Franklin accounted for 55% of the Beavers scoring. Stribe tallied 13 points, followed by Wagner with 11, while Franklin chipped in seven. Brian Fogleman collected a team high nine rebounds and was the third leading scorer with eight points.
The loss drops Luther's Iowa Conference record to 0-3, 4-7 overall. Buena Vista moved to 3-0 in league play, 9-3 overall.
The Norse return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 9, when they will travel to Central College for an 8:00 p.m. contest. You can hear all the action on your computer brought to you by KWLC 1240 AM.
