APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team pulled away in the final five minutes Monday to post a 68-61 Midwest Conference victory over Knox College at Alexander Gymnasium.
The Vikings got a late 10-2 run featuring key baskets from Jeremy Stephani and Ben Peterson to take the lead and maintain control over a scrappy Knox squad.
Stephani led four Vikings (3-6, 3-2 MWC) in double figures with 15 points. Mitch Willer added a double-double of 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Lawrence. Quinn Fisher picked up 13 points, and Pete Winslow added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings.
Marko Protic scored 17 points to pace Knox (1-9, 1-4).
After 13 lead changes and six ties, Knox led 55-53 before Willer’s layup tied it with 5:06 left. Stephani then converted a critical three-point play to put the Vikings up 58-55 with 4:19 remaining.
The teams then traded a pair of free throws before Peterson buried a 3-pointer from the left wing very late in the shot clock to put Lawrence up 63-57 with 2:26 left. Peterson finished with nine points, going 3-for-7 from beyond the arc, and added five rebounds.
Jonathan Damota countered with a layup for the Prairie Fire, but Knox misfired on its next three shots and was forced to foul. Fisher went 4-for-5 from the line and Willer was 1-for-2 in the final 40 seconds to seal the victory.
Lawrence, playing its third game in five days, went 15-for-21 from the foul line for the game. Lawrence put together one of its best rebounding games of the season, and the Vikings were a plus-12 on the glass (41-29).
Lawrence swept the season series from the Prairie Fire, and the Vikings have now won 11 straight and 27 of the last 30 against Knox.