ASHLAND, Wis. – The Northland College Men's Basketball team makes its 2024 home debut at the Kendrigan Center as it hosts Martin Luther College and Bethany Lutheran College in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play this weekend. The LumberJacks start the weekend off against the Knights on Friday with a 7:15 p.m., tipoff, followed by the Vikings on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.
 
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The Knights are 1-12 on the season and 1-4 in UMAC action. The win came against the University of Northwestern in the first conference game of the season, winning 77-70. Last week MLC dropped two UMAC games first to Crown College 62-88 then to the University of Minnesota, Morris 59-104. The Knights' leading scorer is sophomore Thomas Balge who averages 14.7 points per game. Balge is also the team's lead rebounder with 60 boards.
 
Northland leads the all-time series 16-11, winning the last three matchups. In the last game, Northland escaped with a 78-75 win. Langston Flowers scored the go-ahead basket that capped off a 24-point game. Jordan Brennan scored the final points of the game to end with 17 points.
 
The Vikings are atop the UMAC standing with a 5-0 conference record and 13-3 overall. Last week BLC added to its winning streak putting up a 76-71 win over Minnesota, Morris then besting Crown College 75-71. Senior Hunter Nielsen leads the scoring for the Vikings with 254 points, 15.9 points per game. Junior Jax Madison is right behind him, averaging 15.5 ppg. Nielsen leads the UMAC in rebounds with 143.
 
Northland is coming off a pair of road conference losses. First to North Central University 80-99 then the University of Northwestern 66-84. Coming off the bench Jaden Jones put up a career-high 18 points against the Rams and added six rebounds. In the following game, Brennan led the team with 22 points and scored a season-high six three-pointers.
 
Senior Drew Lindberg has paced the team all season in scoring as he nears the 200-point mark with 182 on the season. Brennan is behind him at 170. The pair both average over 10 points per game and Flowers is right behind at 9.6 per game. Flowers has set up 34 baskets to lead the team in assists.
 
Junior Jahlani Thornton has 56 rebounds, most for Northland, with Brennan close behind at 53 and Lindberg at 52. Sophomore Stephen Kesti has nine blocks this season, the 14^th most in the UMAC.
 
Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.