Men’s Basketball

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — The Viterbo University men’s basketball team jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first 10 minutes and never looked back en route to a 74-55 nonconference win over Lawrence University on Thursday at the Just A Game Field House.

Viterbo (8-7) led by as many as 22 points in the first half, and the Vikings (4-5) weren’t able to get any closer than 16 points in the second half.

David Shepard scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the first half to pace Viterbo. Pete Drummond added 15 points and went 4-for-5 from 3-point range for the V-Hawks.

Trace Sonnleitner scored 14 points to pace the Vikings, who played without star guard Jamie Nikitas due to injury. Freshman Jeremy Stephani started in Nikitas’ place and added 12 points, four assists and four rebounds.

Andrew Borresen, Ryan DePouw and Troy Miller added seven points apiece for the Vikings, and Borresen had a team-best eight rebounds.

Viterbo shot 56.3 percent in the first half with Shepard scoring in the post, and Drummond knocking down a trio of 3-pointers.

Lawrence struggled to knock down open shots as the Vikings connected on only 5-of-25 shots from beyond the 3-point line.

Lawrence now takes a break for the holidays and returns to action Jan. 3 when it travels to Grinnell College.

Box score

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team nearly came all the way back from a 20-point deficit before falling 71-63 to Grand View University in a nonconference game on Wednesday at Just A Game Field House.

Lawrence (4-4), which trailed 44-24 late in the first half, cut the lead to two points on two occasions in the second half before Grand View (5-5) pulled away.

Jeremy Stephani came off the bench to lead Lawrence with 18 points. A freshman guard, Stephani hit 6-of-9 shots from the floor, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Trace Sonnleitner added 12 points for the Vikings, and Jamie Nikitas had a game-high 13 rebounds to go with eight points and four assists.

Jjuan Hadnot led Grand View with 16 points, including 14 in the first half. Grand View big men Alex Welsch and Nick Lyon had 12 points apiece on a combined 12-for-15 shooting from the floor.

Grand View was red-hot in the first half, connecting on 61.8 percent of its shots from the floor. Grand View led by double digits at 14-3 just 5:07 into the contest. Grand View built the lead to 44-24 with 3:04 left in the opening half.

Lawrence scored eight of the half’s final 10 points, getting 3-pointers from Stephani and Sonnleitner and a layup from Connor Weas, to cut the lead to 46-34 at the half.

Lawrence trailed 58-45 in the second half, but the Vikings went on a 13-2 run, capped by Nikitas’ layup, to cut the lead to 60-58 with 6:20 left.

Nathan Washington answered with a 3-pointer for Grand View, but the Vikings got the margin back to 65-63 on Weas’ 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining.

Grand View answered with a layup from Welsch and a 3-pointer from Rodney Williams, his only points of the second half, to stretch the lead to 70-63 and seal the win.

Lawrence takes on Viterbo University on Thursday as part of the Wisconsin Dells Classic.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team plays a pair of nonconference games at the Wisconsin Dells Classic on Wednesday and Thursday. The Vikings face two NAIA schools from the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Lawrence takes on Grand View University at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and then faces Viterbo University at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Preview

APPLETON, Wis. — The No. 21 UW-Stevens Point men’s basketball team held off Lawrence University 60-49 in a nonconference battle on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lawrence battled back from double-digit deficits in each half, but the Pointers rallied each time to post their fourth consecutive victory.

Jordan Lutz led four UW-Stevens Point players in double figures with 15 points. Stephen Pelkofer and Alex Richard added 14 points apiece for Stevens Point (7-2).

Jamie Nikitas paced the Vikings (4-3) with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jeremy Stephani came off the bench to add nine points.

The Vikings were ice cold to start the game, and Stevens Point led by double figures at 11-1 with 12:54 left in the first half. Lawrence, which shot just 32.5 percent for the game, trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the Vikings rallied late. Nikitas buried a 3-pointer and Mitch Willer added a layup to trim the margin to 26-19 at the half.

Stevens Point built the lead back to 38-28 on Lutz’s 3-pointer with 11:38 left in the game, but Lawrence responded again. Nikitas and Connor Weas hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Stephani converted a free throw to cut the margin to 38-35 with 9:53 remaining.

The Vikings began attacking the basket and got their next seven points from the foul line. Stevens Point absorbed every punch and started to pull away. Three consecutive layups, two from Richard and another from Pelkofer, built the advantage to 51-39 with 3:12 left.

Sonnleitner countered with a pair of free throws for the Vikings, but Austin Ryf followed with a 3-pointer on the next possession for the Pointers to help seal the victory.

Stevens Point then made 4-of-5 free throws in the final 40 seconds to put the game away.

Box score

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team led the entire game and posted a 79-70 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Tuesday night.

Torrey Davis led four Lake Forest players in double figures with 20 points. Jim Schick posted a double-double for Lake Forest (3-4, 3-3 MWC) with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Jamie Nikitas paced Lawrence (4-2, 2-2) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Ryan DePouw added 18 points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists for the Vikings.

Lawrence trailed from the opening minute and was down by as many as 11 points in the first half before the Vikings rallied. Lawrence scored nine consecutive points, including six on a pair of 3-pointers from Troy Miller and capped by a DePouw layup, to cut the lead to 26-24.

Lake Forest responded by finishing the half on a 9-2 run and led 35-26 at the half.

Lawrence trimmed the margin to four points twice early in the second half, but the Foresters pushed the lead to 48-36 with 15:12 left.

The Vikings trailed by as many as 15 points after that and got no closer than 77-70 with 36 seconds left. Lawrence had the ball at that point but missed its next three shots from the floor to seal its fate.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball standout Jamie Nikitas has been named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.

A junior guard, Nikitas (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) led Lawrence to a pair of victories during the past week and kept alive his streak of double-doubles to start the season.

Nikitas averaged 15.0 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in Lawrence’s two Midwest Conference wins. Nikitas scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Lawrence’s 64-53 overtime win over Beloit College on Dec. 3. He hit a game-tying shot with 0.7 seconds left to force the OT and then scored the first four points of the extra period to put the Vikings in command.

Nikitas followed that with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in Lawrence’s 87-59 win at Illinois College on Dec. 6. Nikitas had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the first half as Lawrence blew out to a 24-point halftime advantage.

For the season, Nikitas leads the team in scoring at 19.4 points per game and is averaging a conference-best 12.8 rebounds per game.

Lawrence returns to action on Tuesday when it plays at Lake Forest College.

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team has a tough week ahead as the Vikings hit the road for a Midwest Conference game and then return home for a nonconference contest. Lawrence travels to play at Midwest Conference rival Lake Forest College on Tuesday before facing WIAC power UW-Stevens Point on Saturday afternoon.

Preview

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team hit 14 3-pointers en route to an 87-59 Midwest Conference rout of Illinois College on Saturday at Sherman Gymnasium.

The Vikings (4-1, 2-1 MWC) hit 14-of-33 shots from beyond the arc and constructed a 24-point halftime lead. Illinois College (1-4, 0-2) never got closer than the halftime margin and trailed by as many as 42 points in the second half.

Guard Jamie Nikitas posted his fifth consecutive double-double to start the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Vikings. Senior swingman Ryan DePouw led Lawrence and all scorers with 19 points and he handed out a game-high seven assists to go with eight rebounds.

Trace Sonnleitner added 18 points, hitting 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range, to go with six rebounds for the Vikings. Troy Miller also was in double figures for the Vikings with 13 points.

Mitchell Patterson led Illinois College with 13 points.

Lawrence led by double digits just 4:14 into the game on Sonnleitner’s layup that provided a 13-2 advantage. Illinois College managed to trim the lead to 20-14 with 11:50 left before halftime, but the Vikings answered back.

The Vikings hit six 3-pointers over the next 6:21 to break the game wide open. A 20-4 run was capped by Miller’s 3-pointer and put the Vikings up 40-18 with 5:29 left in the opening half.

Lawrence led by as many as 26 points in the first half before settling for a 53-29 at the break.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University men’s basketball coach Joel DePagter picked up win No. 100 on Wednesday night at Alexander Gymnasium, but it took some drama in regulation and a superlative overtime to get to the century mark.

Jamie Nikitas got a layup with 0.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, and he then scored the first four points of the overtime to lead the Vikings to a 64-53 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit College.

Nikitas finished with his fourth consecutive double-double to start the season by scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Ryan DePouw paced Lawrence (3-1, 1-1 MWC) with 19 points, and Trace Sonnleitner and Troy Miller added 10 points apiece for the Vikings.

DePagter, in his eighth season as Lawrence’s head coach, became just the fourth coach in Lawrence history to earn 100 victories. He joins John Tharp (204), Arthur Denney (151) and Mike Gallus (147).

Steve McAfee led Beloit (2-4, 1-2) with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Bentley and Sean Fancsali added 13 points apiece for the Bucs.

Beloit led by as many as seven points in the second half, but Lawrence battled back to tie it at 48-48 on Sonnleitner’s 3-pointer with 5:49 left. Beloit finally took the lead back at 50-48 on a pair of Bentley free throws with 2:30 left.

Bentley could have sealed the win when he was fouled with eight seconds left, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one and Nikitas grabbed the rebound. He drove the floor and scored on a layup with less than a second left to tie it at 50-50 and force the overtime.

Lawrence then took control early in the overtime as Nikitas scored on another driving layup for a 52-50 lead, and he then knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Vikings up by four. After a Beloit miss, Sonnleitner’s athletic, high-flying tip-in gave Lawrence a 56-50 lead with 2:39 left. DePouw followed with a layup and Lawrence led 58-50.

Beloit finally got on the board in the overtime with a pair of Bentley free throws, but Lawrence went 6-for-8 from the foul line in the final 1:24 to seal the victory.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team gets back into action this week with a pair of Midwest Conference games. The Vikings host Beloit College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Alexander Gymnasium. The Vikings then make the long road trip to Illinois College for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday.

Preview