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Second-half surge leads Vikings to blowout of NIU

The Lawrence University women’s basketball team scored 26 consecutive points in the second half and rolled to a 75-57 nonconference victory over Northland International University on Thursday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lawrence (1-5) had two players with a double-double and Amber Lisowe tied her career high with 25 points to pace the Vikings. Katie Schumacher scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for the Vikings, and Alex Deshler had her fourth double-double in six games this season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Deshler also had a career-high seven steals to go along with five assists.

Lisowe shot 10-for-17 from the floor and added six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. She matched her career high of 25 points, which she set at Illinois College back on Nov. 25.

Allie Riegel led Northland International (4-4) with 15 points, and Elizabeth Humburg added 14 points before fouling out.

The Vikings led 37-32 at the half, but the Pioneers battled back to take a 50-48 lead on a pair of Miranda Smith free throws with 10:29 remaining in the game.

Deshler responded by draining a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Lawrence a 51-50 lead. That basket started a 26-0 run by the Vikings over the next 8:04. Lawrence went from down two points to leading by 24 at 74-50 once the dust had settled.

Kassidy Rinehart scored seven of her nine points during that stretch, and Lisowe added six points during the run. Northland International went 0-for-12 from the floor and committed four of its 18 turnovers during the decisive run.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Cornell College in a Midwest Conference game.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Mazur a shooting star for Vikings

Let’s see who had a better day on Tuesday, you or Lawrence University student-athlete Tyler Mazur.

Mazur scored 29 points and hit a school-record nine 3-pointers in the Vikings’ basketball game at Carroll University on Tuesday. He also found out on Tuesday he was named to the D3football.com All-West Region team on Tuesday. And, just in case that wasn’t enough, the biology major found out he got straight As during the fall term.

My guess is Mazur is going to win about 99.9 percent of the who-had-the-better-day arguments.

“At the end of the game, I thought I had like seven,” said Mazur, who added the most 3-pointers he had ever made in a game was seven back at Reedsburg High School. “I honestly did not know how many it was. It was an interesting feeling.”

The performance came a bit out of nowhere for Lawrence’s multi-sport phenom. Through the first five games of the season, Mazur had hit on 7 of 20 3-point attempts and was shooting at a respectable 35 percent. Mazur connected on 9 of 11 treys on Tuesday and is now shooting 51.6 percent (16-31) from beyond the arc.

Mazur credits his hot shooting night to a bit of friendly advice from teammate and shooting partner Tom Antosz.

“Tom said, ‘You know what you need to do? You need to not think.’ During warmups, I wasn’t stroking it, and Tom came up and smacked me in the back of the head and said, ‘Stop thinking.’ ”

Mazur did just that.

“If I caught a glimpse of an open shot, I took it,” Mazur said.

Mazur broke the record of eight 3-pointers in a game held by Jason Holinbeck vs. Beloit College (2/9/02) and Joel Dillingham vs. American Indian Bible College (12/11/90).

“Everybody knew he was feeling it, but I didn’t know how many he had,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said of Mazur. “He was keeping us in the game a little bit with how on fire he was. When you sit back and look at it after the game, it was pretty impressive. The two shots he missed, he was wide open. The nine he made, he had a guy draped all over him.”

With Mazur’s eye-popping numbers from Tuesday night, teams around the Midwest Conference will certainly be paying more attention to No. 10. With yet another offensive weapon for the Vikings, this could open more things up for Lawrence.

“Mazur just had one of those game. He’s not going to surprise anyone anymore,” DePagter said. “If they stop Tyler, that’s when other guys have to step up. If they stop Chris (Siebert) and (Ryan) DePouw, then Mazur steps up.”

Mazur went straight from football season into the basketball campaign, and he turned in a stellar season for the football squad. A first-team All-Midwest Conference selection, he earned a third-team honor on the all-region squad. Mazur caught 53 passes for 1,139 yards and 13 touchdowns and finished his football career ranked fourth in Lawrence receiving yards (2,253), fifth in catches (130), fifth in touchdown catches (25), fourth in total touchdowns (37) and fifth in points (224).

“I didn’t find out until after the game,” Mazur said of the all-region selection. “It’s a great honor to have. Any kind of rewards are nice to get, and I appreciate all the recognition. I like to go out and play and to have that extra stuff when you’re done is great.”

Is Mazur, who also has run track and played golf for the Vikings, the best athlete on the campus?

“I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who’s close,” DePagter said. “I don’t know if he would wow people in individual tests, but he has the intangibles to be able to do things you can’t teach. He finds ways to do it. He gets things done in a deceptive way, which makes him more effective.”

Lemirande gets MCHA honor

Logan Lemirande has been named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Week.

Lemirande led the Vikings to a sweep of conference rival Finlandia University this past weekend. Lemirande had two goals and five assists as Lawrence won 6-3 last Friday and 5-2 on Saturday.

The freshman forward from Janesville, Wis., scored a goal and picked up four assists in the victory on Friday. The four assists ties the second-highest game total in Lawrence history. Lemirande then picked up the first short-handed goal of his career and added an assist in the win on Saturday.

Lemirande was involved in eight of Lawrence’s 11 goals during the two-game series and assisted on the game-winning goal in both games. Lemirande was plus-5 on the weekend.

Ram Tough

Lawrence welcomes Cornell College to Alexander Gymnasium on Saturday as the Rams return to the Midwest Conference, and the question is which Cornell men’s basketball team will be here. The Rams defeated preseason conference favorite St. Norbert College last Saturday and then lost to winless Knox College on the road three days later. The Cornell women are unbeaten at 6-0 and included in that was a 63-42 pasting of St. Norbert last Saturday.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Football star Mazur named to All-West Region team

Lawrence University football star Tyler Mazur has been named to the D3football.com All-West Region team.

Mazur (Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg), a senior wide receiver, was a third-team selection.

Mazur, an All-Midwest Conference selection in 2011 and 2012, caught 53 passes for 1,139 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Mazur led the Midwest Conference at 113.9 receiving yards per game. He finished sixth at 5.3 catches per contest and averaged a league-best 21.5 yards per catch. Mazur was fourth in the conference in scoring at 8.0 points per game and was the top receiver in that category.

Mazur, who had two 200-yard receiving games this season, became the first Lawrence player to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Zach Michael did it back in 2003. Mazur finished his career with 2,253 receiving yards despite being a wide receiver for only two seasons.

Mazur finished his career ranked fourth in receiving yards, fifth in catches (130), fifth in touchdown catches (25), fourth in total touchdowns (37) and fifth in points (224).

Mazur is Lawrence’s first all-region selection since Ken Alvord and Tyler Krzewina back in 2006. Alvord was selected as a punter to the D3football.com and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette teams, and Krzewina made the Football Gazette squad.

Carroll holds off Vikings despite Mazur’s record-setting performance

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Tyler Mazur hit a Lawrence University record nine 3-pointers, but Carroll University hung on for an 84-81 Midwest Conference victory over the Vikings on Tuesday at Van Male Field House.

The Pioneers (5-1, 2-0 MWC) took the lead back for good with 1:52 left and then got a pair of key layups in the final 1:09 to hold on for the win. Lawrence (3-3, 2-2) got off a 3-point attempt before the buzzer sounded but it was blocked.

Mazur finished with 29 points and hit on 9 of 11 shots from 3-point range. Mazur broke the record of eight 3-pointers held by Jason Holinbeck vs. Beloit College (2/9/02) and Joel Dillingham vs. American Indian Bible College (12/11/90).

Lawrence hit on 16 of 20 3-point attempts, and that is the fourth-highest number of 3-pointers made in a game. It also is the fourth-highest 3-point shooting percentage in a game (80 percent).

Andrew Nottling and Caleb Zeegers led Carroll’s balanced attack with 12 points apiece.

The Vikings trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but Lawrence rallied and grabbed the lead less than two minutes into the second half. The game see-sawed from that point, with neither team leading by more than five points the rest of the way.

Lawrence led 77-76 on a pair of Ryan DePouw free throws with 4:04 left. Carroll finally took the lead back at 78-77 on two Rudy Bentley free throws with 2:26 remaining.

Conor Klusendorf, who finished with 19 points, threw down a dunk with 2:06 left to give Lawrence a 79-78 lead. Tyler Watzlawick countered with a layup for Carroll, and Lawrence turned the ball over on its next possession. Carroll then got a layup from Dan Kratz with 1:09 left to grab an 82-79 lead.

Chris Siebert blew through the Carroll defense for a layup that trimmed the margin to 82-81 with 45seconds left. Carroll then ran the shot clock down to nothing and got a layup from Andrew Nottling to go up 84-81 with 10 seconds remaining.

Carroll did a nice job of defending the 3-point line on the final possession, and DePouw’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was blocked.

Box score

Lemirande named MCHA Player of the Week

Lawrence University standout Logan Lemirande has been named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Week.

Lemirande (Janesville, Wis.) led the Vikings to a sweep of conference rival Finlandia University this past weekend. Lemirande had two goals and five assists as Lawrence won 6-3 last Friday and 5-2 on Saturday.

The freshman forward scored a goal and picked up four assists in the victory on Friday. The four assists ties the second-highest game total in Lawrence history. Lemirande then picked up the first short-handed goal of his career and added an assist in the win on Saturday.

Lemirande was involved in eight of Lawrence’s 11 goals during the two-game series and assisted on the game-winning goal in both games. Lemirande was plus-5 on the weekend.

Lemirande leads the Vikings with 15 points and has a team-high 12 assists to go with three goals. Lemirande is first in the MCHA at 1.33 assists per game and ranks second in the league in points per game (1.67), power play points per game (0.67) and freshman scoring (1.67).

The Vikings (4-6-0) return to action on Friday when they travel to Gustavus Adolphus College for a nonconference game.

Big third period pushes Vikings past Finlandia

The Lawrence University hockey team scored three times in the first 9:39 of the third period and went on to a 5-2 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Finlandia University on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Five different players scored for Lawrence (4-6-0, 4-4-0 MCHA), and Erik Soderlund and Paul Zuke had two assists apiece for the Vikings. Lawrence also scored two short-handed goals, and the Vikings now have five short-handers on the season.

Lawrence led 2-1 entering the third period, and the Vikings quickly pulled away. Phil Bushbacher scored off passes from Logan Lemirande and Zuke just 2:22 into the period for a 3-1 lead. Rudi Pino then scored at the 5:54 mark off passes from Brandon Boelter and Soderlund for a 4-1 edge.

After Soderlund got whistled for roughing at 8:12, the Lions (3-6-0, 3-5-0) went on the power play but it was Lawrence that cashed in. Brad Scurfield scored an unassisted short-handed goal at 9:39 for a 5-1 Lawrence lead.

Mike Montrose scored on the power play for Finlandia at the 14:20 mark to cut the lead to 5-2, but that’s as close as the Lions would get.

Lawrence jumped on Finlandia early with Huck Saunders scoring for the Vikings just 6:31 into the first period. Lemirande got the first short-handed goal of his career when scored at the 8:07 mark of the first to put the Vikings up 2-0. Justin Scott scored for Finlandia with just 1:32 left in the second period to trim the margin to 2-1.

Peter Emery made 28 saves to pick up the victory for Lawrence. Troy Chandler stopped 36 shots and took the loss.

Box score

 

Lawrence rolls past Prairie Fire

The Lawrence University men’s basketball team pulled away early in the second half and rolled to an 81-66 Midwest Conference victory over the Prairie Fire on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Davis DeWolfe led Lawrence (3-2, 2-1 MWC) with 19 points, and Conor Klusendorf posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Chris Siebert added 12 points and a team-high five assists for the Vikings.

Mitch Murphy paced Knox (0-4, 0-3) with 18 points with 17 of those coming in the first half.

Knox was hot from long range early and the Prairie Fire led by as many as seven points in the first half. Lawrence quickly rallied and led by as many as 10 points in the first half.

The Vikings were up 42-36 at the break and opened the second half with a 14-2 run. DeWolfe scored seven points in that run, including a three-point play to cap the outburst with 14:11 remaining.

Knox trimmed the lead back to 13 at 58-45 on David Jones’ three-point play, but Lawrence stretched the lead after that. The Vikings went on a 13-2 run to lead 71-47 with 7:42 left. Max Burgess started the run with a 3-pointer, Klusendorf added four points and DeWolfe capped the run with a layup to give Lawrence a 24-point edge.

Knox never got closer than 19 points until the final 33 seconds of the game.

Klusendorf, Lawrence’s career blocks leader and the MWC’s blocks leader, also picked up three blocks in the game and DeWolfe added a pair of rejections.

The Vikings were solid at the foul line, hitting on 20 of 24 attempts. Knox, which didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half, finished 7 of 15 from the line.

Box score

Second-period turnaround leads Vikings past Finlandia

The Lawrence University hockey team turned the tables on Finlandia University late in the second period and went on to a 6-3 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over the Lions on Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Lawrence (3-6-0, 3-4-0 MCHA) trailed 3-2 and was skating two men down due to penalties, but the Vikings killed off the two-man advantage and then scored a pair of goals just moments later to seize the momentum. Lawrence then scored twice in the third period to seal the victory.

The Vikings led 2-1 early in the second period thanks to goals from Brad Scurfield and Phil Bushbacher, but Finlandia (3-5-0, 3-4-0) scored two goals in a 56-second span midway through the period to grab a 3-2 edge.

Lawrence then took a pair of penalties that left the Lions with a two-man advantage for 1:39. The Vikings killed off the two-man advantage and were still down a skater when Finlandia’s Kevin Smith was whistled for a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

With the teams now both skating a man down, Scurfield scored off a face-off at the 13:15 mark to tie the game at 3-3. Just 24 seconds later with Lawrence on the power play, Brandon Boelter’s slapshot found the back of the net and the Vikings led 4-3.

Buschbacher then scored 4:08 into the third to put Lawrence up 5-3, and Logan Lemirande added a goal with just 1:41 left to seal the win.

Bushbacher and Scurfield both had a pair of goals, and Lemirande had four assists to go with his goal.

Michael Baldino made 19 saves to pick up the win. Troy Chandler stopped 42 shots for Finlandia and took the loss.

Box score