Men’s Basketball

Category: Men’s Basketball

Lawrence Athletics will raise funds for daughter of alumna

Molly Bouressa was a basketball and softball standout for the Vikings.

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University Department of Athletics are asking fans to be generous and help a little girl when they attend Saturday’s basketball games vs. Beloit College.

It’s Alumni Day on Saturday, and Lawrence alumna Molly Bouressa Van Zeeland, class of 2007, is on the mind of many of her former Lawrence teammates and classmates. A former basketball and softball star at Lawrence, Molly gave birth to Macy last summer.

Macy has battled a number of medical issues and has endured countless surgeries in her first year. To help the Van Zeeland family with expenses, fans will be asked to donate to the family during both basketball games on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

The women’s game vs. the Bucs starts at 2 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 4 p.m. Alumni games will be held in the morning with the women tipping off at 9 a.m. and the men following at 10:15.

There is no admission charge for any of the games.

Cornell edges Vikings

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — The Cornell College men’s basketball team converted a few key plays down the stretch Tuesday to edge Lawrence University 73-64 in a Midwest Conference game at the Multi-Sport Center.

Grant Anderson led Cornell with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Jon Anderson added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (7-11, 5-8 MWC).

Jeremy Stephani paced Lawrence (7-10, 7-6) with 20 points, and Mitch Willer and Ben Peterson added 10 points apiece.

Cornell trailed the entire game before taking the lead for good at 62-59 on Grant Anderson’s 3-pointer with 2:28 left. Jon Anderson then got a critical steal and breakaway dunk to put the Rams up by five.

After a Lawrence miss, Corey Davis converted two free throws to put Cornell up 66-59. Stephani raced down the court for a layup before the Vikings fouled Grant Anderson. He made the first and missed the second, but Cornell grabbed the offensive rebound and Lawrence fouled again.

Craig Engle hit both free throws, but Peterson drained a 3-pointer for the Vikings with 31 seconds left to cut the lead to 69-64. Lawrence pressure created a steal by Evan McLaughlin, but Stephani missed the ensuing 3-pointer to seal the Vikings’ fate.

Cornell went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 21 seconds to secure the victory.

Free-throw shooting was the difference because of a huge discrepancy at the line. Cornell went 32-for-38 from the stripe while the Vikings were 2-for-3. Lawrence was whistled for 26 fouls, and just seven fouls were called against the Rams.

Box score

The Week Ahead: January 30-February 5

APPLETON, Wis. — It’s getting to be crunch time for the winter sports team as Lawrence University men’s and women’s basketball and hockey are closing in on the end of the regular season. Both the men’s basketball squad and the hockey team are fighting for postseason berths in their respective conferences.

The first of the spring sports also gets its season going as men’s tennis opens with a match at MSOE on Sunday.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (2-15, 0-12 MWC)

Opponent: Lawrence at Cornell (13-4, 11-1 MWC)

When and Where: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 5:30 p.m., Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Webcast: Lawrence at Cornell

The Series: Cornell has a slim 8-7 advantage over the Vikings in a series that was first played in the 1988-89 season. The Rams have a seven-game win streak in the rivalry.

Opponent: Lawrence vs. Beloit (4-13, 2-10 MWC)

When and Where: Saturday, Feb. 4, 1 p.m., Alexander Gymnasium.

Webcast: Lawrence vs. Beloit

The Series: In a series that started in the 1977-78 season, Beloit holds a 37-28 advantage. The Bucs have won the last 17 meetings.

Fast Fact: Junior guard Olivia Hoesley scored a career-high 20 points vs. Grinnell this past Saturday. She topped her previous high of 19, set in Lawrence’s victory over Marian early in the season.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (7-9, 7-5 MWC)

Opponent: Lawrence at Cornell (6-11, 4-8 MWC)

When and Where: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m., Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Webcast: Lawrence at Cornell

The Series: Cornell holds a 61-30 edge over the Vikings in a series that began in 1924. Lawrence is 4-3 against the Rams since Cornell rejoined the Midwest Conference in 2012.

Opponent: Lawrence vs. Beloit (5-12, 3-9 MWC)

When and Where: Saturday, Feb. 4, 3 p.m., Alexander Gymnasium.

Webcast: Lawrence vs. Beloit

The Series: In a series that goes all the way back to 1911, Beloit holds a 101-75 advantage. The Vikings have dominated the series over the past 15 seasons. Lawrence has won 24 of the last 28 meetings with the Bucs.

Fast Fact: Lawrence slipped to fifth place in the Midwest Conference standings with two losses last week. The Vikings are a game out of being tied for third place with Grinnell and Lake Forest. Grinnell holds the tiebreaker with the Vikings, and Lawrence has one game left with Lake Forest.

HOCKEY (5-12-2, 4-8-2 NCHA)

Opponent: Lawrence vs. MSOE (8-7-4, 5-6-3 NCHA)

When and Where: Thursday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m., at the Appleton Family Ice Center, and Friday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. at the Kern Center, Milwaukee, Wis.

Webcast: Thursday: Lawrence vs. MSOE Friday: Lawrence at MSOE

The Series: In a series that started in the 1992-93 season, MSOE holds a 49-21-3 advantage. The Vikings are 2-0-1 in the last three meetings with MSOE.

Fast Fact: Lawrence rookie goaltender Evan Cline has a shot at a pair of school season records. Cline has a .934 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average with six games left in the regular season. The record for save percentage is .924 by Peter Emery in 2011-12, and the GAA mark of 2.11 was set by Evan Johnson in 2008-09.

FENCING

Event: Northwestern Duals (at Notre Dame)

When and Where: Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5, all day, Castellan Family Fencing Center, Notre Dame, Ind.

Webcast: None.

Fast Fact: The Lawrence women went 3-2 at the DiCicco Duals last weekend, and the men posted a 2-2 mark. Allison Kim and Natalie Hagopian both went 11-4 to pace the women, and Jakub Nowak posted an 8-4 mark to lead the men.

MEN’S TENNIS

Opponent: Lawrence at MSOE

When and Where: Sunday, Feb. 5, noon, Elite Sports Club River Glen, Milwaukee, Wis.

Webcast: None.

Fast Fact: The Vikings open the season with at least four new faces in the starting lineup as Brian DeCorte, Adam Busch, Ethan Perushek and Mitch Kasprzyk were all lost to graduation. Lawrence was picked to finish fifth in the Midwest Conference in the preseason coaches poll.

Men’s basketball preview: Lawrence at Cornell, vs. Beloit

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team has a pair of Midwest Conference contests this week. The Vikings are back on the road to Iowa on Tuesday just two days after returning home from Iowa. Lawrence plays at Cornell College at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Vikings are then back in Alexander Gymnasium for a 4 p.m. game vs. Beloit College on Saturday.

Preview

Big first half propels Grinnell over Vikings

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell College men’s basketball team dominated the final 10 minutes of the first half Saturday and rode that to a 129-91 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University at Darby Gymnasium.

Grinnell led 27-21 with 10:21 left in the opening half, but the Pioneers outscored Lawrence 43-25 to build a 70-46 lead at the break. The Vikings never threatened a comeback in the second half.

Sean Cullinane led seven Grinnell players in double figures with 23 points. The Pioneers (11-6, 8-4 MWC) also went 38-for-43 from the foul line as Lawrence was whistled for 34 fouls and committed 38 turnovers.

Mitch Willer had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds to pace Lawrence (7-9, 7-5). Jeremy Stephani, Pete Winslow, Ben Peterson and Abhishek Venkatesh had 13 points apiece for the Vikings.

After a pair of Venkatesh free throws cut the lead to 27-21, Grinnell hit five of its next six shots from the floor to stretch the margin to 41-25. The Pioneers then went on a 13-4 run to push the lead to 54-29 and would maintain that margin to the break.

Box score

13th-ranked Green Knights stop Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — The 13th-ranked St. Norbert College men’s basketball team pulled away early in the second half Wednesday and kept Lawrence University at arm’s length the rest of the way in a 77-57 Midwest Conference victory at Alexander Gymnasium.

The Green Knights went on a 12-0 run to build a 17-point lead with 14:34 left in the game, and Lawrence was unable to get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Ben Bobinski went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 23 points for St. Norbert (13-3, 10-1 MWC). D.J. DeValk added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Tim Marshall had 17 points.

Connor Weas and Ben Peterson both scored 11 points off the bench to lead the Vikings (7-8, 7-4). Leading scorer Jeremy Stephani was limited to just five shots, but hit four of them on his way to 10 points. Quinn Fisher also added 10 points off the bench for Lawrence.

The Green Knights were red-hot early and led 24-10 with 10:28 left in the opening half. Weas, Peterson, Fisher and Tyler Klug all hit 3-pointers as the Vikings went on a 16-7 run to trim the lead to 31-26 with 21 seconds left.

DeValk then airballed a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but Bobinski was there to grab it for the putback to give the Green Knights a 33-26 lead at the break.

The Vikings cut the lead to 36-31 on Mitch Willer’s layup off a great feed from Evan McLaughlin, but the Green Knights took over from there.

Bobinski hit back-to-back 3-pointers and followed with a jumper for a personal 8-0 run to give St. Norbert a 46-31 lead. DeValk, who started the decisive run with a layup, finished it with a jumper, and the Green Knights led 48-31.

Weas and Peterson countered with 3-pointers for Lawrence to cut the lead to 48-37. The Vikings managed to trim the margin to 11 points three more times, the last on Stephani’s 3-pointer with 9:49 left that made it 57-46.

St. Norbert pushed the lead all the way to 69-50 with 12-4 burst, and Lawrence never got closer than 17 points after that.

Box score

The Week Ahead: January 23-29

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team faces a difficult week with tough home and road games. Lawrence takes on No. 7 St. Norbert College in a home game on Wednesday, and the Vikings travel to Grinnell College for a stiff road test on Saturday.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (2-13, 0-10 MWC)

Opponent: Lawrence vs. St. Norbert (11-4, 8-2 MWC)

When and Where: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m., Alexander Gymnasium.

Webcast: Lawrence vs. St. Norbert

The Series: St. Norbert holds a 71-13 advantage in a series that dates to 1975-76, the first season of Lawrence basketball.

Opponent: Lawrence at Grinnell (8-7, 6-4 MWC)

When and Where: Saturday, Jan. 28, 1 p.m., Darby Gymnasium, Grinnell, Iowa.

Webcast: Lawrence at Grinnell

The Series: In a series that started in the 1989-90 season, Grinnell holds a 19-17 lead over the Vikings.

Fast Fact: Rookie Shonell Benjamin picked up her sixth double-digit rebound game of the season when she grabbed 11 boards at Beloit this past Saturday. Benjamin leads the team and ranks third in the league in rebounding at 7.5 per game.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (7-7, 7-3 MWC)

Opponent: Lawrence vs. No. 7 St. Norbert (12-3, 9-1 MWC)

When and Where: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m., Alexander Gymnasium.

Webcast: Lawrence vs. St. Norbert

The Series: St. Norbert holds a 58-46 lead in a series that started in 1918. The Green Knights have won the last 15 meetings.

Opponent: Lawrence at Grinnell (9-6, 6-4 MWC)

When and Where: Saturday, Jan. 28, 3 p.m., Darby Gymnasium, Grinnell, Iowa.

Webcast: Lawrence at Grinnell

The Series: In a series that started in 1940, Grinnell holds a 53-50 advantage over the Vikings. Lawrence holds an 18-16 edge in games vs. Grinnell’s “system.”

Fast Fact: Lawrence is in what is shaping up to be a dogfight for a berth in the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament. The Vikings are tied for third place with Lake Forest with a 7-3 league record. The Vikings have a tough schedule from this point as they face Ripon twice, St. Norbert once and have to travel to both Grinnell and Lake Forest.

HOCKEY (5-10-2, 4-6-2 NCHA)

Opponent: Lawrence vs. No. 7 Adrian (12-5-2, 11-3-0 NCHA)

When and Where: Friday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 28, 4 p.m., Appleton Family Ice Center.

Webcast: Lawrence vs. Adrian

The Series: Adrian has an 18-0-3 lead in a series that started in the 2007-08 season. The Bulldogs currently have a five-game winning streak in the series.

Fast Fact: Lawrence sophomore goaltender Greg Procopio was outstanding in his return to the net this past weekend. Procopio, who hadn’t played since being injured on Nov. 4, stopped 32 of 34 shots on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough as the Vikings lost 2-1 to the Saints.

SWIMMING

Event: Wisconsin Private College Championships

When and Where: Saturday, Jan. 28, noon, Koenitzer Aquatic Center, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis.

Webcast: None.

Fast Fact: The Wisconsin Private College Championships is the last tuneup for the Vikings before Lawrence heads to the Midwest Conference Championships in mid-February. After Saturday, Lawrence does not compete again until the MWC meet at Grinnell on Feb. 17-19.

FENCING

Event: DiCicco Duals at Notre Dame

When and Where: Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28-29, all day, Castellan Family Fencing Center, Notre Dame, Ind.

Webcast: None.

Fast Fact: The Vikings are returning to action for the first time since competing in the Badger Open on Nov. 5.

Vikings battle to tight victory at Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team led for the final 38 minutes Saturday, but the Vikings had to hold off Beloit College in a nail-biting 62-58 Midwest Conference victory at Flood Arena.

Lawrence never led by more than eight points and saw its lead cut to one in the final minute. The Vikings went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final 48 seconds to secure the victory.

Rookie guard Quinn Fisher came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points for the Vikings (7-7, 7-3 MWC). Lawrence’s Jeremy Stephani hit a trio of 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, and he grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Carlton Henning posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds to pace Beloit (4-11, 2-8).

Beloit scored the first basket of the game, and Stephani gave Lawrence the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 18:09 left in the opening half. Lawrence led by as many as eight points three times in the first half and settled for a 37-31 lead at the break.

Lawrence led 47-40 on Fisher’s 3-pointer with 11:09 remaining, but Beloit chipped away at the advantage. The Bucs went on an 8-2 run to trim the margin to 49-48, but Pete Winslow and Evan McLaughlin countered with jumpers for the Vikings to push the lead to 53-48.

The Vikings led 56-52 before Cody Risseeuw hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one with 30 seconds left.

The Bucs fouled Ben Peterson, who made both free throws with 23 seconds remaining for a 58-55 lead. Beloit’s Mike Gulve made one free throw with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to 58-56, and the Bucs then fouled Stephani.

Stephani made both free throws with eight seconds left to move the lead back to 60-56. After Mike Noyce’s layup with three seconds left cut the lead back to 60-58, the Bucs fouled Fisher, who made both free throws to finally seal the win.

Box score

Late run lifts Lake Forest over Vikings

APPLETON, Wis. — A late scoring run Wednesday pushed the Lake Forest College men’s basketball team to the lead, and the Foresters went on to a 66-53 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University at Alexander Gymnasium.

With the game tied, the Foresters scored 10 consecutive points, and Lawrence never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Mitch Willer scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Lawrence (6-7, 6-3 MWC). Jeremy Stephani added 14 points for the Vikings, and Eric Weiss chipped in with a game-high five assists.

Mike Rueffer led Lake Forest (8-7, 6-3) with 17 points and 11 of those came at the foul line. Lake Forest went 19-for-27 from the line, compared to 3-for-10 for the Vikings.

Lake Forest led by as many as seven points early in the second half, but the Vikings chipped away and tied it at 44-44 on Evan McLaughlin’s first career 3-pointer. The teams traded baskets, and Stephani’s layup tied the game for the fifth time at 46-46.

Danny Sotos’ three-point play then got the decisive run started for Lake Forest. Sotos followed with two more free throws, and Rueffer hit a 3-pointer. Sotos’ layup finished the run and put Lake Forest up 56-46 with 4:58 remaining.

Weiss’ layup stopped the run and trimmed the margin to 48-56, but the Vikings couldn’t close the gap as their next two 3-pointers rimmed in and out. Lawrence went just 4-for-21 from beyond the arc.

A pair of Stephani free throws cut the lead to 57-50, but Lake Forest went 9-for-10 from the foul line in the final 1:31 to seal the victory.

Box score