GALESBURG, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team bolted to a big early lead and cruised to a 72-43 Midwest Conference victory over Knox College on Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium.
Conor Klusendorf and Ryan DePouw scored 13 points apiece to pace Lawrence (7-8, 5-5 MWC), and Klusendorf added a game-high nine rebounds. Chris Siebert and Tyler Mazur added 10 points apiece for the Vikings.
David Jones and Lukas Shaw scored seven points apiece to lead Knox (1-14, 1-9).
After both teams got off to a cool start, Lawrence led 4-2 when the Vikings scored the next 12 points. Siebert scored five points in that stretch and Klusendorf added four as the Vikings built a 16-4 lead.
Lawrence would continue to pull away early with Troy Miller hitting a 3-pointer to give Lawrence a 28-8 lead with 7:12 left in the opening half. The Vikings would go on to lead 39-17 at the break.
The Vikings put the game away early in the second half. Lawrence opened the second half on a 12-1 scoring run to build a 49-18 advantage with 15:46 remaining.
The Vikings would go on to lead by as many as 35 points.
Lawrence’s defense limited Knox to only 34.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 15 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Vikings also forced 24 Knox turnovers.
Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Carroll University in a Midwest Conference game.