The Lawrence University men’s basketball team rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half, but Beloit College hung on for a 76-72 Midwest Conference victory on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
James Lazarcik had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace Beloit (9-12, 8-8 MWC). Michael Horton also had a double-double for the Bucs with 14 points and 11 assists.
Tyler Crisman poured in 29 points to lead Lawrence (8-12, 7-9). Tyler Mazur came off the bench to add 11 points for the Vikings, and Chris Siebert had 10.
Beloit led 34-29 at the half, but the Bucs came out and pushed that lead to 47-35 with 16:35 remaining. Lawrence trimmed the lead back to eight points, but the Bucs went on a 10-2 run to take a 61-45 advantage with 9:50 remaining.
Lawrence got back into the game by going on a 13-3 run of its own. Ryan DePouw, Max Burgess and Mazur all hit 3-pointers in that run, and Mazur and Conor Klusendorf both had dunks during the outburst that cut the lead to 64-58.
Tyler Butke stopped the run with a jumper for Beloit, but Lawrence got two more 3-pointers from Mazur, including one that cut Beloit’s lead to 70-68 with 3:03 left.
Beloit got a layup from Lazarcik to push the lead back to 72-68, and Crisman was then fouled with 2:20 left. He hit one free throw, but Ahmad Shamsid-Deen then scored for 74-69 Beloit lead.
Crisman then converted a three-point play to cut the lead back to 74-72 with 1:03 remaining. Brian Gryszkiewicz then forced a Beloit turnover, and Crisman was fouled with 31 seconds left. He missed the front end of the bonus, and Butke grabbed the rebound.
The Vikings were forced to foul Horton, who converted a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to give Beloit a 76-72 lead. After a missed 3-pointer by the Vikings, Beloit grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Ripon College.