BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team limited Randoph College to just 24 percent shooting Saturday in a 43-40 non-conference victory at the Puerto Rico Classic.
Jamie Nikitas led Lawrence (4-4) and all scorers with 17 points and picked up eight rebounds. Jeremy Stephani added 13 points for the Vikings, and Ben Peterson grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
Josh Freund led Randolph, a school in Lynchburg, Va., with a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Randolph (7-2) shot just 15-of-62 (24.2 percent) from the floor for the game, and the Wild Cats hit 2-of-14 (14.2 percent) from 3-point range. Lawrence shot only 32.7 percent from the floor, including 24.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The game was tight throughout, although Lawrence built the biggest lead by either team at 16-8 on Pete Winslow’s layup midway through the first half. Lawrence was held to just two points for the rest of the first half, and the Wild Cats trimmed the margin to 18-17 at the break.
In a game that featured 10 lead changes and four ties, Randolph took its biggest lead of the game at 25-23 on a pair of Zach Desgain free throws. The teams then traded the lead before the Vikings grabbed the advantage for good at 35-33 on Nikitas’ three-point play.
The Vikings built the advantage to five points after Stephani followed with a 3-pointer. Lawrence was unable to pull away, but the Vikings were up 43-38 after a Troy Miller free throw.
Freund’s jumper cut the margin to 43-40, but the Wild Cats missed their final four shots from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final seconds that would have tied it.
Lawrence wraps up its trip to Puerto Rico when it takes on Bard College on Sunday.