Vikings roll past Illinois College

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team hit 14 3-pointers en route to an 87-59 Midwest Conference rout of Illinois College on Saturday at Sherman Gymnasium.

The Vikings (4-1, 2-1 MWC) hit 14-of-33 shots from beyond the arc and constructed a 24-point halftime lead. Illinois College (1-4, 0-2) never got closer than the halftime margin and trailed by as many as 42 points in the second half.

Guard Jamie Nikitas posted his fifth consecutive double-double to start the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Vikings. Senior swingman Ryan DePouw led Lawrence and all scorers with 19 points and he handed out a game-high seven assists to go with eight rebounds.

Trace Sonnleitner added 18 points, hitting 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range, to go with six rebounds for the Vikings. Troy Miller also was in double figures for the Vikings with 13 points.

Mitchell Patterson led Illinois College with 13 points.

Lawrence led by double digits just 4:14 into the game on Sonnleitner’s layup that provided a 13-2 advantage. Illinois College managed to trim the lead to 20-14 with 11:50 left before halftime, but the Vikings answered back.

The Vikings hit six 3-pointers over the next 6:21 to break the game wide open. A 20-4 run was capped by Miller’s 3-pointer and put the Vikings up 40-18 with 5:29 left in the opening half.

Lawrence led by as many as 26 points in the first half before settling for a 53-29 at the break.

Box score