Michigan Lutheran Seminary 57, Valley Lutheran 47
MLS coach Seth LaBair: “It was great to finally be back on the court after 11 months away. I think both teams were super excited just to compete. It was a pretty close game the entire way. MLS led 12-8 after one quarter but Valley Lutheran was able to take the lead during the second quarter. MLS regained the lead and went into the locker room up 27-25. We were able to keep a four to seven-point lead most of the second half. Just when we thought we would stretch it out, Valley came up with a bucket. MLS hit six of eight free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
“Neither team shot the ball well but that’s to be expected the first time out. The Cardinals outscored the Chargers 19-6 at the free-throw line and that might have been the difference. Drew really played well and I think he can do better. Nathan Seafert is also going to be tough in the paint. We can really do some damage when things are clicking. Our defense was decent tonight. We got a little lazy early in the fourth quarter but I’m really happy with how the guys played for the first time out.”
MLS was led by Drew Reif who led all scorers with 19 points while hauling in 14 rebounds. Eli Slangor, contributed six points, nine rebounds and two steals. Tobias Edgett had nine points and eight rebounds for MLS. Keaton Ringley led Valley Lutheran with 15 points (12 of them in the fourth quarter). Eli Frank added 12 with three 3-point baskets.
MLS plays at Hemlock on Tuesday (2-9) and Valley is at Carrollton.