APPLETON, Wis. — Troy Miller enjoyed a stellar shooting night to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to a 66-49 nonconference victory over Dominican (Ill.) University in the season opener on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Miller went 7-for-11 from 3-point range on his way to a career-high 21 points for the Vikings (1-0). Miller, who had never scored in double digits in a game, scored 15 points in the second half as the Vikings pulled away.
Jamie Nikitas had a double-double for the Vikings with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Peter Winslow, making his first career start for Lawrence, scored 11 points and tied for game-high honors with four assists. Trace Sonnleitner added seven points, four assists, four rebounds and three blocks for the Vikings.
Freshman Jeremy Stephani played 28 minutes and scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in his Lawrence debut. The Vikings played without star swingman Ryan DePouw, who missed the game due to injury.
Tim Robertson paced Dominican (0-1) with 14 points, and Josh Mayberry added nine.
Lawrence built and early 13-point lead, but the Stars finished the first half on a 14-5 run to trim the margin to 25-21 at the break.
Miller then hit four 3-pointers as part of a 22-8 run over the first nine minutes of the second half that pushed Lawrence’s lead to 18 points. The Vikings pulled out to a 47-29 advantage and would build that lead to as many as 23 points.
Dominican never got closer than 13 points over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Lawrence hits the road for a nonconference game Tuesday at Wisconsin Lutheran College.