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Borresen picks up MWC Player of the Week honor

Erik Borresen

Lawrence University men’s basketball standout Erik Borresen has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.

Borresen (West Bend, Wis./Living Word Lutheran) picked up the honor after a pair of big games during Lawrence’s trip to Florida before Christmas. In the two games at the Cruzin’ Classic, Borresen averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, 2.5 assists, three blocks and 1.5 steals. Borresen hit on 19 of 28 shots from the floor for a 67.9 percent clip.

In Lawrence’s 89-80 loss to No. 14 St. Mary’s (Md.) College, Borresen scored a career-high 30 points and hit on 13 of 19 shots from the floor, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.

In a 61-59 loss to Manchester College, Borresen scored 12 points, on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor. He added nine rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal.

On the season, Borresen is averaging 15 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor.

Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Monmouth College in a Midwest Conference game.

Lawrence rally comes up just short against Alverno

The Lawrence University women’s basketball team rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit but fell just short in a 54-52 nonconference loss to Alverno College Monday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

Nakita Chadwick poured in a career-high 18 points for Lawrence (0-8), and Alex Deshler pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the Vikings.

Alyssa Jensen posted a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Alverno (5-6). Hannah Galstad paced the Inferno with 16 points.

Alverno  broke the game open midway through the first half. The Inferno went on a 15-0 run to build a 28-10 lead and held Lawrence without a point for 6:09.

Alverno led by as many as 19 points in the first half and were up 35-19 at the break. Jensen hit a 3-pointer to open the second half and build the lead back to 19 points, but Lawrence began chipping away at the advantage midway through the second half.

After Alicia Kontowski made a free throw to give Alverno a 48-34 lead with 11:14 remaining, Lawrence scored the game’s next eight points to trim the margin to 48-42 with 6:47 left.

A pair of free throws from Jensen finally broke a 7:14 scoreless streak for the Inverno and gave Alverno a 50-42 lead.

The Vikings continued to slice into the margin with Deshler hitting a pair of free throws, Chadwick dropping in a layup and Kanesha Walker converting two free throws to cut the lead to 52-48 with 2:39 left.

The teams then traded missed shots before Kayla Kennedy made a free throw for Alverno with 1:01 left, but Walker countered with a layup for the Vikings with 48 seconds left to cut the margin to 53-50.

After an Alverno miss, Walker was fouled and hit two free throws with 27 seconds left to trim the margin to 53-52. The Vikings fouled Kontowski with 17.1 seconds left and she made one free throw.

The Vikings got the ball to Chadwick on the baseline but her layup slipped off the rim and Alverno secured the rebound as time expired to seal the win.

Lawrence returns to Midwest Conference action on Wednesday when it hosts Monmouth College.

Box score

Vikings snuff out Prairie Fire

GALESBURG, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team held off a late rally by Knox College on Wednesday night and posted a 74-69 Midwest Conference victory.

All five starters scored in double figures for Lawrence (4-2, 3-0 MWC), which remained unbeaten in league play.

Conor Klusendorf and Erik Borresen both posted double-doubles for the Vikings. Klusendorf had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Borresen scored 13 points and grabbed 11 boards.

Jon Mays led Lawrence with 19 points, and Tyler Crisman added 17 points. Chris Siebert chipped in with 10 points and a team-high seven assists.

Joe Kozak led Knox (1-7, 0-5) and all scorers with 27 points, and he pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

Lawrence opened the game up early in the second half. The Vikings went on a 16-6 run, capped by Klusendorf’s jumper, to grab a 53-42 lead with 13:48 remaining.

The Vikings built the lead to 13 points before Knox rallied. Knox scored 12 consecutive points to trim Lawrence’s lead to 61-60 with 4:25 left.

Borresen then hit a jumper for the Vikings, and Klusendorf followed with a 3-pointer. Siebert then hit a jumper and Lawrence pushed the lead back to 68-60.

After Kozak hit a 3-pointer, Knox was forced to foul. Lawrence hit 6 of 8 free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal the victory.

Box score

Johnson nabs MCHA Defensive Player of the Week honor

Lawrence University standout Evan Johnson has been named the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week.

Johnson (Suwanee, Ga./Pomfret), a senior goaltender, was chosen after a stellar performance in Lawrence’s 1-1 overtime tie at UW-Superior on Dec. 7.

Johnson stopped 35 of 36 shots against the 15th-ranked Yellowjackets. Johnson was especially good on the penalty kill as Superior went 0-for-6 on the man-advantage. Johnson made three of his biggest saves of the night in killing off a pair of 5-on-3 situations and a 4-on-3 situation.

Johnson, who was chosen as Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, improved to 5-4-1. He now has a 3.31 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

Lawrence, which is now 2-2-1 against nonconference opponents this season, doesn’t return to action until it travels to Northland College on Jan. 7.

Vikings skate to overtime tie at 15th-ranked Superior

SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team skated to a 1-1 overtime tie at 15th-ranked UW-Superior on Tuesday night.

Lawrence (6-4-1) was forced to kill off a penalty in the final four minutes of regulation to force the overtime.

The Vikings got on the board first when defenseman Jim Crowley scored his first goal of the season. After Superior’s Logan Isley was sent off for tripping at 15:11, Crowley took a pass from fellow defenseman Jameson Raymond and scored just 10 seconds later to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

That lead stood up until midway through the third period. The Vikings killed off five penalties after they took the lead, but Brett Meyers tied the game on an even-strength goal with 9:36 left in the game.

Lawrence was forced to kill off one last penalty after Crowley was whistled for kneeing at the 16:09 mark.

Lawrence goaltender Evan Johnson stopped 35 shots for the Vikings, including two in overtime. Drew Strandberg was forced to make only 12 saves for the Yellowjackets (7-3-1).

This game marks the end of the first half of the season for Lawrence, which doesn’t return to action until it travels to Northland on Jan. 7.

Box score

Vikings roll past Wisconsin Lutheran

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team broke open a close game early in the second half and cruised to a 73-62 nonconference win at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Monday night.

Jon Mays scored 19 points to pace Lawrence (3-2) and was one of four Vikings in double figures. Conor Klusendorf added 15 points and Chris Siebert had 13. Center Erik Borresen picked up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

D.J. Cupertino scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Wisconsin Lutheran (0-6).

The Vikings led by as many as nine points in the first half and held a 34-27 lead at the break.

Wisconsin Lutheran quickly cut into that lead in the second half and trimmed the margin to 34-33 on Russell Strutz’s layup with 18:11 left in the game.

The Vikings then went on a 10-0 run to seize control of the game. Borresen had a conventional three-point play in that run, and Mays capped it with a 3-pointer to give Lawrence a 44-33 lead with 15:29 left.

After Cupertino answered with a 3-pointer for the Warriors, Lawrence outscored Wisconsin Lutheran 20-9 over the next 6:55.  Freshman guard Brian Gryszkiewicz capped that run with a 3-pointer to give Lawrence its biggest lead of the game, 19 points, at 64-45 with 8:17 remaining.

The Warriors never got closer than the final margin of 11 points the rest of the way.

Lawrence, which has now won three straight, returns to action on Dec. 15 when it travels to Knox College for a Midwest Conference game.

Box score

Siebert’s 3-pointer pushes Vikings past Lake Forest

Chris Siebert drained a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to a 62-60 Midwest Conference victory over Lake Forest College on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Jon Mays paced Lawrence (2-2, 2-0 MWC) with 22 points, and Erik Borresen had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Travis Clark led Lake Forest (3-2, 2-1) with 21 points, and Jeff Beck added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Lawrence led by as many as eight points early in the second half, but the Vikings’ lead hovered between two and five points for much of the second half.

The Vikings led 57-52 on Borresen’s layup with 3:05 left, but Chris Roets answered with a 3-pointer for the Foresters. Tyler Crisman countered with a layup with 2:29 left to push Lawrence’s lead back to 59-55, but David Pilalis hit a pair of free throws with 2:00 left to cut the lead back to 59-57.

The teams traded missed shots, and Lake Forest had the ball inside the final minute with a chance to tie or take the lead. Brian Gryszkiewicz then blocked Roets’ 3-pointer, and the Lawrence freshman guard came out of a scramble with the ball with 48 seconds left.

Lawrence looked to possibly seal the win with a basket, but Siebert got trapped by a pair of Foresters. Clark stole the ball with 22 seconds left to give Lake Forest new life.

Following a Foresters timeout, Beck drove to the basket, scored and was fouled. He converted the free throw with 13 seconds left to give Lake Forest a 60-59 lead.

Lawrence took its final timeout and Siebert got the ball just to the left of the top of the key and buried what proved to be the game-winning 3-pointer with a defender in his face. Beck missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Foresters.

The Vikings are off to a 2-0 start in league play for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

Box score

Red-hot starting five leads Vikings past Illinois College

The starting five on the Lawrence University men’s basketball team was on fire Friday night.

The Vikings’ starters shot 63.2 percent (36-57) from the floor as Lawrence posted a 100-79 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College at Alexander Gymnasium.

Jon Mays led the assault for Lawrence (1-2, 1-0 MWC) with a career-high 26 points. Mays was 11 of 18 from the floor. Tyler Crisman added 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the field, and Chris Siebert added 21 points and was 8 of 11 from the floor.

Conor Klusendorf was 6 of 7 from the floor on his way to 12 points, and Erik Borresen was 4 of 7 from the field and finished with 10 points. Klusendorf also picked up a career-high five blocked shots.

Nathan Kohler led Illinois College (2-1, 0-1) with 15 points.

Lawrence, which shot 59.7 percent from the floor for the game, broke the game open midway through the first half. The Vikings led 15-9 and then went on a 23-5 run to grab a 38-14 advantage with 8:41 left in the opening half.

Illinois College battled back and trimmed the margin to 42-32 with 3:45 left before the break. The Vikings then finished the half on a 10-5 run, punctuated by Andrew Kline’s jumper with 47 seconds left, to take a 52-37 lead at the half.

Lawrence’s lead was as little as 10 points at 65-55 with 12:04 remaining, but the Vikings never let the lead shrink to single figures. Lawrence built the advantage back to 16 points with 5:56 left and never led by less than 13 points the rest of the way.

Box score

Vikings set for three games in four days

The Lawrence University men’s basketball team enters a stretch of three games in four days.

The Vikings start Midwest Conference play Friday when they host Illinois College. Lawrence then faces Lake Forest College on Saturday afternoon in another Midwest Conference contest.

Lawrence goes back to nonconference play on Monday when it travels to Wisconsin Lutheran College.

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