St. Norbert thwarts Vikings comeback

DE PERE, Wis. — The St. Norbert College men’s basketball team built a double-digit lead and then stymied a Lawrence University rally on Wednesday night to post a 74-65 Midwest Conference victory at Schuldes Sports Center.

Brandon Gries paced St. Norbert (11-6, 8-4 MWC) with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Schwoerer added 15 points for the Green Knights and Paul Appleton had 13.

Tyler Crisman led Lawrence (5-10, 4-7) with 17 points. Davis DeWolfe picked up a double-double for the Vikings with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Conor Klusendorf added 13 points and eight boards, and Chris Siebert chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.

St. Norbert saw its 10-point halftime lead shrink to 41-35 after DeWolfe’s 3-pointer with 14:42 left. The Green Knights responded by scoring the game’s next 15 points to push the lead 56-35 with 9:03 remaining.

Lawrence went on a 17-4 run of its own, capped by Crisman’s 3-pointer, to cut the lead to 60-52 with 5:15 remaining. The teams then traded baskets over the next few minutes and Lawrence closed the gap to seven points twice, the last at 67-60 on Crisman’s jumper with 1:10 left.

The Vikings couldn’t get any closer as St. Norbert hit 5 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Carroll University.

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