JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — A surge midway through the second half Saturday led the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to an 88-76 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College at Sherman Gymnasium.
The Vikings went on an 11-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a nine-point lead with just under eight minutes remaining. Illinois College didn’t get closer than six points after that.
Jamie Nikitas led Lawrence (9-11, 6-9 MWC) with 20 points and seven rebounds. He also picked up three assists and three steals. Jeremy Stephani added 16 points and Connor Weas matched his career high with 15 points for the Vikings. Troy Miller added 11 points and a game-high five assists for Lawrence.
Nikitas passed Lawrence Hall of Famer Doug Fyfe (1,342) for fifth place on the career scoring list with 1,353 points. Nikitas is just eight points away from surpassing Chris Siebert (1,360) for fourth place.
Mitchell Patterson led the Blueboys (7-13, 4-11) with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Illinois College led 63-61 when Weas buried a 3-pointer with 10:18 remaining in the game as part of a four-point play. Following an Illinois College miss, Weas followed with another 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 68-63. Weas scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, going 4-for-4 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, in the final 20 minutes.
After the Blueboys had a turnover and another miss, Mitch Willer picked up a layup for a 70-63 lead. Illinois College then turned it over, and Nikitas hit a jumper for a 72-63 lead with 7:38 left.
Patterson scored to stop the run, and Illinois College trimmed the lead to 75-69 on a pair of Max Stutsman free throws with 6:28 remaining. The Vikings pushed the lead back to 81-71 on a pair of Nikitas free throws with 3:43 left, and Lawrence hit its next three shots from the floor to seal the victory.
Lawrence opened the game by scoring the first seven points, and the opening 20 minutes was marked by runs from both teams. Illinois College immediately rallied and trimmed the lead to 17-16.
The Vikings came right back on a 12-2 run to go up 29-19, but Illinois College scored the game’s next nine points to trim the lead to one. The Blueboys grabbed their first lead at 39-38 and the teams went into the half knotted at 46-46.