APPLETON, Wis. — Ryan DePouw had a huge game to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to a 77-68 Midwest Conference victory over Cornell College on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
DePouw poured in a career-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with three assists, two blocks and a steal. DePouw went 9-for-14 from the floor, including 2-for-3 on 3-pointers, and knocked down 7-of-8 free throws.
Jamie Nikitas added 14 points for the Vikings (11-10, 9-7 MWC), and Chris Siebert had 10 points.
Reggie Greenwood scored 26 points to pace Cornell (8-13, 5-11) but needed 21 shots to do it. Nick Bobb had a double-double for the Rams with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Lawrence also kept alive its hopes for a Midwest Conference Tournament berth. The Vikings are a game behind Carroll University for fourth place with two games left to play.
The Vikings built a double-digit lead late in the first half courtesy of a 12-4 scoring run. DePouw scored seven points and Trace Sonnleitner added the other five in that stretch to give Lawrence a 39-29 lead with 2:02 left in the opening half. The Vikings went on to lead 45-34 at the break.
Lawrence built the lead to 16 points with 13 minutes left but couldn’t put the Rams away. Cornell trailed 68-54 when it scored the game’s next 11 points to cut the margin to 68-65 with 2:55 left.
DePouw’s layup with 2:09 left gave Lawrence a 70-65 edge, and the Rams then had a turnover and a pair of missed jumpers. Nikitas then hit a free throw with 57 seconds left to give Lawrence a 71-65 lead, but Greenwood hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to cut the margin to 71-68.
The Vikings then hit six consecutive free throws, including four by DePouw, to seal the victory as Cornell missed its next three 3-point attempts.
Lawrence wraps up the home portion of the regular season on Wednesday when it hosts Lake Forest College.