First-half scoring spurt pushes No. 14 St. Norbert past Lawrence

DE PERE, Wis. — The No. 14 St. Norbert College men’s basketball team used a scoring surge late in the first half to build a double-digit lead and then maintained that advantage in an 81-68 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Saturday at Schuldes Sports Center.

St. Norbert (9-1, 5-0 MWC) went on a 13-2 run over the final 3:36 of the first half to build a 41-30 lead at the break. Lawrence (5-5, 3-2) closed to within eight points early in the second half, but the Green Knights were able to keep the Vikings at arm’s length the rest of the way.

St. Norbert led by as many as 15 points until the final minute. Lawrence couldn’t get closer than 12 points in the final 10 minutes of the game as the teams traded baskets consistently during the second half.

UW-Green Bay transfer Kam Cerroni hit seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points. The Green Knights went 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from beyond the arc in the game.

Jamie Nikitas paced Lawrence with 22 points. The sophomore guard went 6-for-10 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Junior forward Ryan DePouw added 16 points, and Chris Siebert had 14 points for the Vikings.

Austin Elliott added 15 points for St. Norbert, and Andrew Schwoerer had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

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