Five Lawrence University players scored in double figures as the Vikings downed Marian University 83-76 in a nonconference game Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Conor Klusendorf paced Lawrence (1-1) with 17 points, and he added seven rebounds four assists, four blocks and a steal. Chris Siebert, who drained a huge 3-pointer in the final minute, added 16 points and a game-high eight assists.
Davis DeWolfe picked up 14 points and six rebounds for the Vikings. Max Burgess was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, and finished with 13 points. Ryan DePouw added 10 points for Lawrence.
Cody Veleke led Marian (1-2) and all scorers with 23 points, and Sam Koslowski added 20 points for the Sabres.
Lawrence led by 13 at 50-37 early in the second half, but the Sabres went on a 9-0 run to trim the margin to 50-46 with 15:34 remaining. The Vikings pushed the lead back to 62-50 on a Burgess 3-pointer with 9:52 left.
The Vikings led 69-57 after a pair of DeWolfe free throws with 7:45 remaining, but Marian cut the lead to 72-69 after a Mike Keller three-point play with 3:32 left.
Veleke then made a pair of free throws with 3:10 remaining to trim the lead to 73-71, but Trace Sonnleitner buried a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 76-71 with 2:50 left.
The teams traded missed free throws before Keller’s layup cut the margin to 76-73. With the Vikings working the clock, Siebert went one-on-one on the perimeter and drained a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to push Lawrence’s lead to 79-73.
The Sabres missed a 3-pointer, and Lawrence then hit 4 of 6 free throws in the final 27 seconds to seal the win.
Lawrence returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Illinois College to open Midwest Conference play.