Joseph Vanden Acker

Author: Joseph Vanden Acker

Ninth-ranked Pointers rally to top Lawrence

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The No. 9 UW-Stevens Point men’s basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit to down Lawrence University 64-53 on Saturday in a non-conference game at Quandt Fieldhouse.

Sean McGann scored 20 points and Ethan Bublitz added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Pointers (4-3).

Jamie Nikitas paced Lawrence (3-4) with 18 points, and Jeremy Stephani added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings. Mitch Willer also pulled down nine boards for Lawrence.

Lawrence led 32-25 at the half, but the Vikings went cold from the floor after the break. Lawrence shot just 29.6 percent (8-27) from the floor in the second half.

The Pointers chipped away at the advantage and finally took the lead at 43-41 on a pair of McGann free throws with 11:28 remaining. Stevens Point then stretched the lead thanks to an 11-2 run to grab a 57-45 edge with 3:27 left.

Lawrence would get no closer than 10 points after that.

The Vikings built a double-digit advantage by dominating the final 12 minutes of the first half.

The game was tied at 9-9, but Lawrence hit eight of its next 14 shots from the floor to pull away. The Vikings outscored Stevens Point 21-10 to take a 30-19 lead with 2:50 remaining in the first half. Nikitas scored nine points and Stephani added eight during that stretch.

Stevens Point then got a three-point play and a 3-pointer from Bublitz to trim the margin to seven points at the half.

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Lawrence swimmers split with Titans

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University swim teams split a dual meet with UW-Oshkosh Friday night at Boldt Natatorium.

The Lawrence women downed the Titans 139-98, and the Oshkosh men defeated the Vikings 133-55.

On the women’s side, Hayley Cardinal, Emei Thompson and Lizzy Garcia all won a pair of events for the Vikings.

Cardinal took first in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:12.57 and won the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.78. Thompson took the top spot in the 1,000 freestyle in 11:28.49 and was first in the 500 freestyle in 5:31.69. Garcia won the 50 freestyle in 26.12 seconds and swam to victory in the 100 freestyle in 56.30 seconds.

Also winning events for the Lawrence women were Paige Witter (100 butterfly) and Emily Flack (200 freestyle). Lawrence also won the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay.

Travis Charlow led the Lawrence men as he won the 100 freestyle in 50.96 seconds and took the top spot in the 200 freestyle in 1:54.98. Christian Bell won the 50 freestyle for the Vikings.

Results

Men’s basketball preview: Lawrence at No. 9 UWSP, at Puerto Rico Classic

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team has three non-conference games scheduled in the next week before it takes a break for the holidays. Lawrence heads to No. 9 UW-Stevens Point for a 3 p.m. game Saturday at Quandt Fieldhouse. The Vikings then travel to the Puerto Rico Classic and face Randolph College and Bard College on Dec. 19-20.

Preview

Big games net Nikitas MWC Player of the Week honor

Jamie Nikitas
Jamie Nikitas

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball standout Jamie Nikitas was named Midwest Conference Player of the Week after leading the Vikings to two wins and hitting a scoring milestone.

Nikitas (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South), a senior guard, averaged 34.5 points in two Lawrence victories and became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 points. On the week, Nikitas shot 59.5 percent from the floor while averaging 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game.

Nikitas scored 34 points, picked up three rebounds, two assists and six steals in Lawrence’s 76-72 Midwest Conference win at Beloit College on Dec. 2. He followed that with a career-high 35 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 77-67 conference victory over Illinois College on Dec. 5.

Nikitas now has 1,006 points and ranks 22nd on Lawrence’s career scoring list.

This is the second time Nikitas has won MWC Player of the Week during his career. He also took the honor on Dec. 8, 2014.

Lawrence improved to 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in league play. The Vikings return to action on Saturday when they travel to No. 7 UW-Stevens Point.

No. 2 St. Norbert powers past Vikings

DE PERE, Wis. — Second-ranked St. Norbert College pulled away late in the second period Saturday and went on to a 9-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University at the Cornerstone Community Center.

After Lawrence cut the St. Norbert’s lead to 2-1 early in the second period, the Green Knights responded with three second-period goals. St. Norbert then scored four more times in the third to turn the game into a runaway.

St. Norbert (10-1-1, 7-1-0 NCHA) led 2-0 after the opening period on goals from Michael Hill and Jake Larson. Lawrence’s Renato Engler sliced the lead in half when he scored a power-play goal off assists from Nick Felan and Josh Koepplinger 4:41 into the second.

St. Norbert then scored three times in a span of 2:55 in the second to pull away as Blake Thompson, Riley Christensen and Roman Uchyn all found the back of the net.

The Green Knights then added three even-strength goals and a power-play tally in the third. The Green Knights were 2-for-10 on the power play, and Lawrence finished 1-for-7 in a game that featured 26 penalties.

T.J. Black made just 12 saves to pick up the win for St. Norbert. Freshman Greg Procopio made the start for Lawrence (3-7-0, 2-4-0) but was removed after allowing five goals and making 11 saves.

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Lady Blues pull away from Lawrence in final quarter

APPLETON, Wis. — The Illinois College women’s basketball team pulled away from Lawrence University in the final quarter Saturday and posted a 56-41 Midwest Conference victory at Alexander Gymnasium.

Brielle Greenleaf led Illinois College (4-2, 2-0 MWC) with 11 points, and Melissa Solorio and Jill Friedrich added 10 points apiece. Solorio completed a double-double with 10 rebounds.

Liz Arco paced Lawrence (0-5, 0-4) with 12 points, and she picked up nine rebounds. Andrea Wilkinson led the Vikings with 10 rebounds.

Illinois College took control of the game late in the second quarter and early in the third. The Lady Blues held Lawrence scoreless for a stretch of 9:32 that finally ended when Olivia Hoesley hit a 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 32-23.

Illinois College would push its lead back to as many as 14 in the third quarter, but a pair of free throws from Fanita Robins and a jumper from Patsy Kealey trimmed the margin back to 40-30 heading to the fourth.

The Lady Blues scored the first three points of the fourth quarter, but Robins answered with a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to 43-33 with 8:58 left in the game.

Illinois College then scored six of the game’s next seven points to build a 49-34 advantage. Lawrence never got closer than 13 points after that.

The Vikings fell behind 9-2 to start the game, but Lawrence battled back to cut the margin to 12-11 after the first quarter.

Lawrence took its first lead at 13-12 on Arco’s jumper to start the second quarter. The Vikings later went on a 7-0 run, capped by Kealey’s jumper with 5:15 left in the opening half, to grab a 20-18 edge. Illinois College then held Lawrence scoreless for the rest of the first half and led 28-20 at the break.

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Nikitas tops 1,000 points as Vikings down Illinois College

Jamie Nikitas
Jamie Nikitas

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University’s Jamie Nikitas poured in a career-high 35 points Saturday to lead the Vikings to a 77-67 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College at Alexander Gymnasium.

Nikitas also became the 23rd player in Lawrence history to score 1,000 career points. He entered the game needing 29 to reach 1,000 and now has 1,006 for his career. Nikitas hit 13-of-19 shots from the floor and went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. He also had six rebounds and five assists.

Tim Schappaugh, who left the game with an injury, and Max Stutsman led Illinois College (2-3, 0-2 MWC) with 15 points apiece.

Eight other players scored for the Vikings with Pete Winslow leading that group with eight points and a team-best eight rebounds. Winslow also picked up five assists.

The Blueboys led 57-56 midway through the second half before Lawrence surged ahead. Lawrence (3-3, 2-2) went on a 13-2 run to grab a 69-58 lead with 7:36 remaining. Ben Peterson, who finished with seven points, started the burst with two consecutive baskets, Nikitas followed with back-to-back 3-pointers and Connor Weas finished the run with another 3-pointer.

Illinois College fought back and trimmed the lead back to 69-65 with seven consecutive points. Weas knocked down a jumper to stem the tide, the Vikings got a stop on the defensive end and Mitch Willer scored to put Lawrence up 73-65 with 4:00 left.

The teams then traded several missed shots, and Lawrence led 75-67 after Nikitas’ layup with 1:13 left. The Blueboys were forced to foul and finally put the Vikings in the bonus with 28 seconds left. Nikitas, who topped his previous career high of 34 points that he matched at Beloit College just three days ago, made two free throws for the final margin.

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Lawrence rally comes up short against second-ranked Green Knights

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University scored a pair of third-period goals, but No. 2 St. Norbert College held on for a 4-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory Friday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Lawrence (3-6-0, 2-3-0 NCHA) trailed 4-0 heading into the third period, but the Vikings got back into the game via the power play.

After Storm Wahlrab was sent off for cross-checking at the 9:50 mark, Lawrence’s Lane King scored just five seconds later off a pass from Brandon Boelter to cut the lead to 4-1.

Lawrence got back on the power play when Lane Valimont was called for tripping at 15:16. Renato Engler scored on the man-advantage at the 16:54 mark off assists from Steve Hughes and Nick Felan to cut the margin to 4-2.

Lawrence finished 2-for-6 on the power play against the Green Knights (9-1-1, 6-1-0), who entered the game at 90.7 percent on the penalty kill. St. Norbert had only given up four power-play goals in its first 10 games.

The Green Knights did a great job of controlling the puck over the final few minutes to seal the victory.

St. Norbert struck first when it got a power-play goal from Sean Campbell with just 14 seconds left in the first period. The Green Knights made it 2-0 on Brad Pung’s goal just 2:37 into the second.

St. Norbert stretched the lead to 4-0 with goals from Wahlrab and Roman Uchyn in a span of 1:39 late in the second period.

Tony Kujava made 27 saves to pick up the win for St. Norbert. Mattias Soderqvist made 25 saves over the first two periods for the Vikings, and Greg Procopio stopped all seven shots he faced in the third.

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Hot-shooting Wieseman, Polaski too much for Vikings

BELOIT, Wis. — Lana Wieseman and Nora Polaski combined to score 57 points Wednesday to lead the Beloit College women’s basketball team to a 93-73 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University at Flood Arena.

Wieseman scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Polaski added 22 points to lead Beloit (3-3, 2-1 MWC). Wieseman hit 12-of-19 shots from the floor, and Polaski was a perfect 10-for-10.

Liz Arco paced Lawrence (0-4, 0-3) with 15 points and a team-high four assists. Andrea Wilkinson added 14 points and a team-best six rebounds for the Vikings. Aubrey Scott chipped in with a career-high 12 points as she hit 5-of-7 shots from the floor, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range.

Lawrence led 15-10 in the first quarter, but Beloit outscored the Vikings 14-6 over the final four minutes to grab a 24-21 lead after one quarter.

A 9-0 run by the Bucs helped them take control in the second quarter and push the lead to 44-32. Beloit led 48-38 at the half.

The Vikings never got closer than 10 points in the third quarter, but the Bucs couldn’t put Lawrence away. Scott’s jumper cut Beloit’s advantage to 68-55 after three quarters.

Lawrence trimmed the margin back to 10 points twice, the first on Scott’s 3-pointer and the second on Wilkinson’s jumper to make it 70-60. Beloit responded with a 15-0 run to push the lead to 85-60 and seal the victory.

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Nikitas scores 34 as Vikings top Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. — Jamie Nikitas poured in 34 points Wednesday to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to a 76-72 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit College at Flood Arena.

Nikitas tied his career scoring high set earlier this season, and Jeremy Stephani added 16 points for the Vikings (2-3, 1-2 MWC). Nikitas went 12-for-23 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the foul line, and he also picked up six steals, three rebounds and a pair of assists.

Steve McAfee led Beloit (2-3, 1-2) with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Lawrence led by as many as 15 points early in the second half, but the Bucs whittled the lead down late at the foul line. Beloit hit five consecutive free throws to trim the margin to 67-64 with 2:24 remaining.

Nikitas countered with a jumper for the Vikings, but Rudy Bentley answered with a layup to cut the lead back to 69-66. Bentley finished with 15 points.

The Bucs then fouled Nikitas, who converted a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left for a 71-66 edge. McAfee missed a 3-pointer, and Nikitas was fouled again. He made one free throw to push the lead to 72-66, but the Bucs scored the next four points, sandwiched around a pair of Lawrence misses at the foul line, to cut the lead to 72-70.

Nikitas then made four consecutive free throws in the final eight seconds to seal the victory.

Beloit built a 19-12 advantage early, but the Vikings took command for the rest of the half. Lawrence went on a 19-3 run to take a 31-22 lead with 4:48 left in the opening half.

Ben Peterson hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Vikings during that stretch and finished with eight points in the game. Mitch Willer added nine points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks for Lawrence.

Lawrence would go on to lead 42-32 at the half, and the Vikings went on a 7-2 outburst to start the second half. Stephani’s 3-pointer capped that run to give Lawrence its biggest lead of the game at 49-34.

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