Men’s Basketball

Category: Men’s Basketball

Mazur pours in 30 points as Vikings run past Cornell

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — Tyler Mazur hit eight 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 30 points as the Lawrence University men’s basketball team beat Cornell College 97-90 in a Midwest Conference game on Saturday.

Mazur went 10-for-14 from the floor, including 8-for-11 from 3-point range on his way to a career afternoon. Mazur topped his previous career high of 29 points, which he set earlier this season at Carroll University.

Chris Siebert added 25 points for the Vikings (11-10, 9-7 MWC), and Ryan DePouw added 15 points on the strength of an 11-for-11 day at the foul line.

Joey Guth scored 22 points and Nick Bobb added 21 points and a game-high nine rebounds for Cornell (8-13, 7-9).

Lawrence led by as many as nine points in the first half before Cornell rallied. The Rams led by as many as four points before the eighth tie of the first half ended with a 49-49 deadlock at the break.

Conor Klusendorf’s layup with 11:33 left gave Lawrence the lead for good at 67-66, and the Vikings were holding an 81-79 lead with 3:28 left. Siebert and Mazur then hit back-to-back jumpers for the Vikings, and Lawrence pushed the lead to 85-79.

Cornell was forced to foul in the final two minutes, and the Vikings went 10-for-10 from the stripe down the stretch. Lawrence finished the day 25-for-27 from the foul line.

The final Lawrence basket of the day was a thunderous dunk by junior forward Chase Nelson with nine seconds left that broke the rim.

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Lawrence battles to victory over Bucs

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team rode a career-high 21 points from Jamie Nikitas and a gritty performance from Brian Gryszkiewicz to a 73-56 Midwest Conference victory over Beloit College on Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Nikitas, a freshman guard, went 5-for-9 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, on his way to game-high scoring honors. Gryszkiewicz finished with 11 points, going 4-for-4 from the floor while adding six assists, six rebounds, three steals and diving for seemingly every loose ball.

Ryan DePouw added 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks for the Vikings (10-10, 8-7), and Chris Siebert chipped in with 11 points.

James Lazarcik, who entered the game shooting 70.7 percent from the floor, led Beloit (10-10, 8-7) with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. He hit just 3 of 10 shots from the floor. Steve McAfee paced Beloit with 14 points but was just 3-for-13 from the floor.

The Vikings shot 53.2 percent (25-47) from the field, and limited the Bucs to just 31 percent (18-58) shooting.

The Bucs, who never led in the game, had pulled even at 46-46 when Gryszkiewicz drove to the basket, was fouled and converted a conventional three-point play. After a jumper by McAfee, Gryszkiewicz buried a 3-pointer and Nikitas had a three-point play to push Lawrence’s lead back to 55-48 with 7:08 left.

Lawrence maintained the momentum and led 60-51 after a pair of Lazarcik free throws with 3:47 left. Gryszkiewicz went to the hoop again, scored and was fouled. He converted the three-point play, and the Vikings were up 63-51 with 3:18 left.

After a Lazarcik miss, Nikitas buried a 3-pointer for a 66-51 lead and Beloit never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Lawrence built an early five-point lead and the Vikings led by seven points with 6:45 left in the first half. The Bucs cut the lead to 23-22, but Lawrence scored the final seven points of the first half and led 30-22 at the break.

The Vikings return to action on Saturday when they travel to Cornell College.

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Klusendorf posts double-double as Vikings top Illinois College

APPLETON, Wis. — Conor Klusendorf poured in a season-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to an 80-57 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Klusendorf went 7-for-13 from the floor and was 11-for-13 from the foul line for the Vikings (9-10, 7-7 MWC). The 26 points is the second-highest total of Klusendorf’s career. His career high is 35 points vs. Grinnell College back on Jan. 22, 2011.

Chris Siebert added 19 points and a game-high four assists for Lawrence. Ryan DePouw chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds, and Brian Gryszkiewicz added 10 points.

Kathan Kohler paced Illinois College (8-11, 5-9) with 17 points.

Lawrence took control of the game early by scoring the game’s first 10 points. The Vikings pushed the lead to 26-7 with 10:19 left in the first half on Trace Sonnleitner’s layup.

The Blueboys cut the lead back to 15 points, but Lawrence went on a 16-5 run to move the lead to 42-16 with 2:39 left in the first half. Illinois College managed to score the last six points of the first half, and the Vikings led 42-22 at the half.

Lawrence wasn’t able to put the Blueboys away early as Illinois College opened the second half on a 14-4 run. Kohler’s layup with 14:14 left cut the lead to 46-36.

Lawrence pushed the lead back to 18 points, but Illinois College was within 13 points after a pair of Kohler free throws with 4:28 left.

Klusendorf countered with a thunderous dunk for the Vikings, and Lawrence then hit three free throws to push the lead back to 69-51 with 3:37 left to seal the win.

Lawrence returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Beloit College.

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Second-half surge rallies St. Norbert past Lawrence

DE PERE, Wis. — The St. Norbert College men’s basketball team pulled away midway through the second half and went on to a 68-54 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at Schuldes Sports Center.

Andrew Schwoerer paced St. Norbert (15-3, 12-2 MWC) with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Conor Klusendorf led Lawrence (8-10, 6-7) with 15 points, and Chris Siebert added 13 points for the Vikings.

The teams traded the lead throughout the first half, and Lawrence led 28-27 at the break. After Jamie Nikitas hit a jumper for the Vikings with 13:32 left in the game, St. Norbert’s lead was cut to 40-39.

The Green Knights then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 46-39 with 11:40 remaining. Klusendorf countered with a jumper to trim the lead to five, but that’s as close as the Vikings would get.

St. Norbert went on a 12-2 run that expanded its lead to 60-44 with 7:29 remaining. The Vikings went 0-for-5 from the floor during that stretch and got their only two points on a pair of Siebert free throws.

The Green Knights, who put on a dominating performance on the glass to the tune of 50-25 rebounding edge, would expand their lead to as many as 19 points.

Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Illinois College.

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Siebert’s career day leads Lawrence past Fighting Scots

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Chris Siebert poured in a career-high 30 points to lead the Lawrence University men’s basketball team to an 87-73 Midwest Conference victory over Monmouth College on Saturday at Glennie Gymnasium.

Siebert hit 8 of 13 shots from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and he went a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. The junior guard ecliped his previous career high of 26 points, set vs. Wisconsin Lutheran College on Nov. 18, 2011. Siebert also tied for game-high honors with seven rebounds and he added three assists and a steal.

Lawrence (8-9, 6-6 MWC) also got stellar performances from sophomore Ryan DePouw, who added 18 points and a game-high five assists, and from freshman Jamie Nikitas, who chipped in with 17 points.

The Vikings had one of their best free-throw games in recent memory by hitting 31 of 35 shots from the stripe.

Mike DeDecker led Monmouth (4-14, 3-10) with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Lawrence was down 15-4 early, but the Vikings went on a 13-2 run, capped with 3-pointers from DePouw and Tyler Mazur, to tie the game at 17-17. The Vikings grabbed their first lead with 6:06 left in the first half, and Lawrence would go on to lead 38-32 at the half.

The Vikings quickly doubled that lead early in the second half, with Siebert draining a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 48-36 lead with 17:26 remaining. Monmouth cut the lead back to one at 56-55 midway through the second half, but the Scots were never able to regain the lead.

Lawrence gradually pulled away, and the lead was back to 10 at 75-65 on Nikitas’ layup with 2:43 left. The Vikings then went 10-for-12 from the foul line in the final 2:24 to seal the victory.

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Inside LU Athletics: Klusendorf takes his game to a new level

Conor Klusendorf is not your prototypical power forward.

Standing just about 6-foot-4, Klusendorf looks more like a high jumper than he does a guy mixing it up in the paint and doing basketball’s dirty work.

But that is exactly what Klusendorf has done this season as his game has grown from the perimeter to around and above the rim for the Lawrence University men’s basketball team.

“Plenty of times I’m going up against guys who outweigh me or are bigger, but if I can use my length and my athleticism, that levels the playing field,” said Klusendorf, a senior from Chicago.

Klusendorf is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game, but he ranks third in the Midwest Conference in field goal percentage at 60.9 percent. Klusendorf is taking more shots in the paint as he has seen his role expand closer to the basket.

“Conor thought of himself as a wing player coming in (to Lawrence), but his athletic ability is crazy for a Division III player. He can make up for stuff because of his athletic ability,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said. “With him playing in the post, he uses his quickness, and it makes other teams have to match up to us instead of the other way around.”

Klusendorf has turned up his production level since the Vikings returned from Christmas break. In his last four games, Klusendorf is averaging 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. He attributes the improvement in his game to his work exclusively with the post players this season.

“I put up a nice little baby hook in practice, and from there it’s just really clicked,” Klusendorf said. “I know I can get ball in the post and be a threat down there.”

DePagter said he thinks of former Lawrence star Jon Mays, an all-conference selection in 2010-11, when he sees Klusendorf.

“I think you can draw some parallels with Jon Mays,” DePagter said. “Conor has put himself into a position where he went from being a role player to an all-conference player. Kids develop here and get better.”

Fans of the Vikings were used to Klusendorf turning in spectacular plays during his first three seasons at Lawrence. With tremendous leaping ability, Klusendorf was throwing down dunks on a regular basis.

“If it’s a steal and breakaway, I know I’m going up to dunk it,” Klusendorf said. “If it’s in the lane and it’s the Red Sea and totally opens up, then I know I can dunk it.”

“Our end-of-the-season banquet DVD wouldn’t be nearly as exciting without Conor Klusendorf in it,” DePagter said with a smile. “We’ve labeled him the human highlight reel.”

Klusendorf has worked hard to get to the point where he can rise up and make the crowd at Alexander Gymnasium gasp at another stunning dunk.

“The summer of my sophomore year (in high school) was the first year I dunked it. That was when I really started working on my legs and working out a lot. That really helped me out a lot,” Klusendorf said. “If you don’t work on it and don’t maintain it, you’re going to lose it. It’s not genetic. I’ve watched some of my Dad’s games (Dave Klusendorf was a standout at Loyola of Chicago in the mid-1980s) and he could probably dunk it. I wish I could say it was natural ability, but it’s taken a lot of hard work.”

Klusendorf isn’t just getting it done on the offensive end, he also has been a force on defense. Already Lawrence’s career blocks leader with 106, Klusendorf ranks fourth in the league at 1.4 per game. He also is sixth in the conference at 1.6 steals per game.

“The leaping ability has opened the door to get blocks. So much of it is timing and technique,” Klusendorf said. “It’s really nice because sometimes you see a guy going and see his eyes locked on the rim and he doesn’t see it coming. Especially at home, the reaction is just great. The crowd goes nuts.”

Klusendorf’s exuberance has been duly noted by the head coach, who has seen him take on new challenges with gusto.

“He’s kind of an Energizer bunny. If he doesn’t get in foul trouble, he can play 40 minutes,” DePagter said. “He’s done a great job. You couldn’t ask for anything more when he’s guarding 6-8 guys who have a hundred pounds on him. We have guys who are one-dimensional, but he has more than one dimension and that will make him tough to replace.”

Different year, same result

Junior guard Chris Siebert has made 17 of his last 18 free throws for a stellar 94.4 percent.

Siebert is up to 84.1 percent from the foul line this season, but he has a ways to go to break Jack Ehren’s school record of 90.9 percent set back in 1981-82. It was around this same time last season that Siebert hit 44 consecutive free throws.

National name

Freshman Logan Lemirande is near the top of the national statistics in NCAA Division III hockey.

The forward from Janesville is second in scoring by rookies at 1.27 points per game. He trails only Adrian College’s Shaquille Merasty, who is at 1.47. Lemirande also ranks fourth in the nation at 1.00 assists per game. Paul Rodrigues of Oswego State is first at 1.17.

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.

 

 

Big second half leads Carroll past Lawrence

APPLETON, Wis. — The Carroll University men’s basketball team scored 46 second-half points and held Lawrence University to just 24 percent shooting after the break to rally for a 74-68 Midwest Conference victory on Wednesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Kevin Hurd and Alec Molter both posted double-doubles for Carroll (12-4, 8-3 MWC). Hurd had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Molter had 10 of 13 points and 10 of his 11 rebounds in the second half.

Conor Klusendorf had a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to pace Lawrence (7-9, 5-6). Ryan DePouw led the Vikings with 15 points and Tyler Mazur added 13.

Lawrence was in command in the first half as the Vikings sprinted to a 38-28 lead at the break while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor.

The Vikings went cold in the second half and hit on only 7 of 29 shots (24.1 percent) from the floor. Lawrence was 3-for-14 on 3-pointers in the second half, connecting on just one of its first 12 tries from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.

Lawrence led 43-30 early in the second half, but Carroll scored 14 consecutive points to take a 44-43 lead on Molter’s layup with 13:40 left. The teams then traded the lead before the Pioneers took the lead for good at 49-48 on Hurd’s layup with 9:33 left. 

Carroll built its lead to as many as nine points at 60-51, but Klusendorf answered with a three-point play. Lawrence then trimmed the lead back to 62-58 on a pair of free throws from DePouw with 2:27 left.

Lawrence missed its next two shots from the floor, both 3-pointers, and Carroll pushed the lead back to 68-58. Lawrence never got closer than six points after that.

The Vikings return to action on Saturday when they travel to Monmouth College.

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