BELOIT, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team made a pair of key plays down the stretch to hold on for a 69-65 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit College on Tuesday at Flood Arena.
Jamie Nikitas led Lawrence (9-12, 7-9 MWC) with 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, with the last theft setting up a key late hoop for the Vikings. Trace Sonnleitner picked up 17 points, four rebounds and a key late block for Lawrence that preserved the lead.
Ryan DePouw added 13 points, a game-high nine rebounds and three assists for the Vikings. He also made a pair of late free throws to seal the victory.
Andrew Bremner paced Beloit (7-14, 6-10) with 18 points and six rebounds, and Steve McAfee added 16 points.
Lawrence led 65-63 after McAfee’s layup with 4:30 remaining, and the teams then traded several missed shots. DePouw missed a 3-pointer from the corner, and Bremner grabbed the rebound for Beloit, but his outlet pass was picked off by Nikitas.
The Vikings missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but DePouw grabbed the offensive rebound. Nikitas then scored on a layup to give the Vikings a 67-63 advantage with 1:13 left.
BJ Kiser went to the hoop for Beloit, but Sonnleitner was there for the block and Nikitas grabbed the rebound. The teams then traded turnovers, and Beloit was forced to foul.
Nikitas went to the line but missed the front end of a bonus with 35 seconds left. Rudy Bentley then scored for Beloit to cut the margin to 67-65 with 25 ticks remaining.
DePouw was triple-teamed on the ensuing possession and turned the ball over, but Kiser threw it away to give the ball back to Lawrence.
DePouw was fouled with 11 seconds left and made both free throws to put Lawrence up 69-65. Beloit couldn’t get off a final shot as Mitch Willer and Sonnleitner knocked the ball away and time expired during the scramble for the ball.
Lawrence led by as many as 12 points in the first half as the Vikings shot 64.3 percent from the floor before the break. The Vikings led 43-33 at the half, but Beloit chipped away at the lead to set up the tense final few minutes.