The Lawrence University men’s basketball team takes on Beloit College in a 4 p.m. game on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium. The Vikings are also hosting the Alumni Game at 11 a.m.
Category: Men’s Basketball
Vikings edge Illinois College
Andrew Kline scored a pair of key baskets down the stretch, and the Lawrence University men’s basketball team got a big defensive stop to down Illinois College 77-76 in a Midwest Conference game on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Chris Siebert paced Lawrence (8-11, 7-8 MWC) with 24 points. Tyler Crisman added 14 points for the Vikings, and Ryan DePouw had 11.
Brandon Berry led Illinois College (4-14, 2-12) with 17 points, and Zeke Light added 14.
In a game that featured 13 lead changes and 10 ties, neither team led by more than four points. The game was tied at 68-68 after Light hit a 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining.
Kline countered for the Vikings by burying a 15-foot jumper to give Lawrence a 70-68 edge. After a Craig Bals free throw trimmed the lead to one with 2:16 left, Kline scored on a layup off a great pass from DePouw to put the Vikings up 72-69 with 1:49 left.
Bals countered with a layup for the Blueboys to cut the lead to 72-71 with 1:27 left. Conor Klusendorf was fouled and hit a pair of free throws for the Vikings with 1:00 left, but Berry’s layup cut the margin to 74-73 with 47 seconds left.
Crisman was then fouled and hit one free throw with 18 seconds left to give Lawrence a 75-73 lead. Light then attempted a 3-pointer with eight seconds left, but it was off the mark and Brian Gryszkiewicz grabbed the rebound for Lawrence.
Gryszkiewicz made both free throws with five seconds left to put Lawrence up 77-73, and Spencer Campbell then hit a 3-pointer for the Blueboys with 1.4 seconds left. The Vikings were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock.
Lawrence returns to action on Feb. 11 when it hosts Beloit College.
Lake Forest edges Vikings in overtime
The Lake Forest College men’s basketball team hit its final four shots from the floor in overtime and posted a 66-58 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Friday night at Alexander Gymnasium.
Travis Clark scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Lake Forest (17-2, 13-1 MWC). Jeff Beck and James Stack added 12 points apiece.
Tyler Crisman scored 16 of his team-high 18 points for Lawrence (7-11, 6-8) in the first half. Chris Siebert added 15 points for the Vikings and Ryan DePouw had 10.
Lake Forest got a jumper from Nate Bateman and a layup from Drew Grennell to take a 58-54 lead early in the overtime. After a pair of free throws from Crisman, Lake Forest scored the game’s next six points, including a three-point play from Stack, to take a 64-56 lead with 1:35 left.
Siebert then hit a pair of free throws to trim the margin to 64-58 with 1:10 remaining, but that’s as close as the Vikings would get.
Lawrence led by as many as nine in the first half, and Lake Forest rallied to lead by as many as four points after the break. The game was tied at 50-50 when DePouw hit a jumper with 3:01 left to put Lawrence up by two.
Clark countered with a layup to tie it for the Foresters, but Siebert drained two free throws with 1:21 left to give Lawrence a 54-52 lead. Clark scored on another layup with 1:08 left to tie it at 54-54, but neither team could score after that.
The Vikings turned the ball over, and Lake Forest missed three tap-ins in the final seconds to force the overtime.
Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Illinois College.
Lawrence vs. Lake Forest/Illinois College preview
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team hosts a pair of Midwest Conference games this weekend. Lawrence entertains Lake Forest College at 7 p.m. on Friday and then takes on Illinois College at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Lawrence shoots down Red Hawks
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team used a balanced attack and good shooting to down Ripon College 85-81 in a Midwest Conference game on Tuesday night at Alexander Gymnasium.
Chris Siebert scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to pace five Lawrence players in double figures. Tyler Crisman added 16 points for the Vikings (7-10, 6-7 MWC), and Davis DeWolfe added 15. Conor Klusendorf and Ryan DePouw added 14 points apiece, and Klusendorf had a team-high nine rebounds.
Aris Wurtz and Taylor Koth did nearly all the damage for Ripon (12-6, 8-5). Wurtz had a double-double with 34 points and 11 rebounds, and Koth added 30 points and 13 rebounds.
Lawrence, which shot 54.7 percent for the game and 40.7 percent on 3-pointers, led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Ripon rallied to trim the margin to 37-32 at the half.
Ripon went on a 9-2 run midway through the second half to take a 60-57 lead with 11:51 left. Lawrence answered with a 3-pointer from Siebert, a layup from DeWolfe and 3-pointer from DePouw to grab a 65-60 lead with 10:04 remaining.
After a jumper from Koth, Lawrence got back-to-back 3-pointers from Siebert and a free throw from Tyler Mazur to take a 72-62 lead with 6:44 left.
Ripon slowly worked the lead down to only three points at 76-73 with 1:07 left, but the Vikings then sealed the victory at the foul line. Lawrence went 9-for-10 from the line in the final 38 seconds to seal the victory.
Siebert did see his streak of 42 consecutive made free throws snapped in the second half.
Lawrence returns to action on Friday when it hosts Lake Forest College.
Lawrence vs. Ripon preview
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team takes on rival Ripon College on Tuesday at Alexander Gymnasium. The Vikings tip off against the Red Hawks at 7:30 p.m.
Big second half powers Vikings past Carroll
WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and went on to a 98-88 Midwest Conference victory over Carroll University on Saturday at Van Male Field House.
Davis DeWolfe paced seven Vikings (6-10, 5-7 MWC) in double figures with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Siebert led Lawrence with 18 points, and Max Burgess added 15.
Alec Molter led Carroll (9-7, 5-6) with 21 points.
Carroll came out hot and shot 65.5 percent (19-29) from the floor in the first half to build a 48-38 lead at the break.
It took Lawrence only 3:20 into the second half to erase that deficit. The Vikings went on a 15-4 run to open the half and grabbed a 53-52 lead with 16:40 left. Siebert scored seven points during that outburst.
The Vikings kept the momentum going and pushed the lead to 64-54 on Burgess’ 3-pointer with 10:54 left. Lawrence built the lead to as many as 13 points and Carroll got as close as six points after that.
The Pioneers trimmed the edge to 91-84 with 57 seconds remaining, but Lawrence went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the final minute and got a dunk from Conor Klusendorf to seal the victory.
Klusendorf finished with 11 points and Ryan DePouw, who hit three free throws down the stretch, had 13 points.
Lawrence returns home on Tuesday to face Ripon College at Alexander Gymnasium.
St. Norbert thwarts Vikings comeback
DE PERE, Wis. — The St. Norbert College men’s basketball team built a double-digit lead and then stymied a Lawrence University rally on Wednesday night to post a 74-65 Midwest Conference victory at Schuldes Sports Center.
Brandon Gries paced St. Norbert (11-6, 8-4 MWC) with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Schwoerer added 15 points for the Green Knights and Paul Appleton had 13.
Tyler Crisman led Lawrence (5-10, 4-7) with 17 points. Davis DeWolfe picked up a double-double for the Vikings with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Conor Klusendorf added 13 points and eight boards, and Chris Siebert chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.
St. Norbert saw its 10-point halftime lead shrink to 41-35 after DeWolfe’s 3-pointer with 14:42 left. The Green Knights responded by scoring the game’s next 15 points to push the lead 56-35 with 9:03 remaining.
Lawrence went on a 17-4 run of its own, capped by Crisman’s 3-pointer, to cut the lead to 60-52 with 5:15 remaining. The teams then traded baskets over the next few minutes and Lawrence closed the gap to seven points twice, the last at 67-60 on Crisman’s jumper with 1:10 left.
The Vikings couldn’t get any closer as St. Norbert hit 5 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Carroll University.
Inside LU Athletics: Siebert building impressive all-around game
Chris Siebert’s game is like that proverbial box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball standout could score 25 points one night, hand out double-digit assists another night or lead the team in rebounds or steals another night.
“He’s a guy who has more than one dimension and that’s rare at this level,” Lawrence coach Joel DePagter said of Siebert. “That’s a huge need for a team that wants to do anything.
“There are days where he’s our best shooter. There are days when he’s been our best defender. He did a great job on a kid from Monmouth on a night when he shot the ball terribly. … Those are things that don’t show up in the box score.”
Siebert leads the Vikings in scoring at 17.4 points per game, and that ranks fifth in the Midwest Conference. The 6-foot-2 guard from Baraboo, Wis., also is among the league leaders in a number of other categories.
Siebert is first in free-throw percentage (87.7), fourth in assists (3.9 per game), eighth in steals (1.5 per game), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1), 15th in 3-point shooting (37.9 percent) and 20th in rebounding (4.8 per game).
“I’ve always kind of tried to hone my skills as an all-around player. I used to be way more of a shooter,” Siebert said. “I like to think of myself as an all-around player. I want to be a guy who can defend the other team’s best guys, distribute the ball, get to the rim and shoot it. You don’t want to have a glaring weakness. You want to be solid everywhere.”
Siebert has scored at least 20 points in a game six times in Lawrence’s first 14 games, and he’s done it in three of the last four contests. He also recorded 13 assists, the second-highest game total in school history, against Grinnell College on Jan. 13. Siebert, who enters Wednesday’s games at St. Norbert having made 34 consecutive free throws, also had a double-digit rebounding game with 10 at Illinois College on Dec. 2.
Siebert is the only player on the team to have recorded double-digits in three different categories this season.
“Chris could potentially get close (to a triple-double) every night. He doesn’t need to score 25 points for us to win,” DePagter said.
“Chris is a guy who has all the ability in the world. For him, it’s just a matter of not trying to do too much too often.”
With the dynamic nature of his game, Siebert could certainly be considered for all-conference honors and maybe even a look as the conference Player of the Year. Win, said Siebert, and accolades will come your way.
“Winning is the most important thing. If you team doesn’t make the conference tournament or isn’t in contention to make the conference tournament, you might be overlooked,” Siebert said.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it, but it’s all about winning. If we made the conference tournament and have a good finish here, everything will take care of itself.”
DePagter believes Siebert is already at the level that makes him one of the Midwest Conference’s premier players.
“No matter how we do this year as a team, he should be in the discussion,” DePagter said. “He’s in the top five in so many categories in the league. He should be in that conversation or he hasn’t worked hard enough or I haven’t pushed him hard enough. (Player of the Year) should be his goal. That’s a very attainable goal for him.”
Critical hockey series
The Lawrence hockey team faces a critical series when it comes to positioning for the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs. The Vikings go to Northland College this weekend trailing the Lumberjacks by one point in the standings.
Lawrence swept the Lumberjacks in a series in Appleton back in November, and the Vikings have an impressive recent record against Northland. Lawrence has won six straight and 32 of the last 35 against Northland, which is dramatically improved over the past three seasons.
Voice of the Vikings too
Legendary Wisconsin broadcaster Jim Irwin passed away on Sunday at age 77 after a battle with metastatic cancer. While Irwin was known as the voice of Green Bay Packers football, he also broadcast Lawrence football in the mid-1960s.
Irwin began broadcasting Packers football in 1969 and did so until retiring after calling Super Bowl XXXII in 1998. Irwin, who also called University of Wisconsin football for 22 years and Milwaukee Bucks basketball for 16 years, took a job as the sports director at WLUK-TV in Green Bay in 1964.
During his time in Green Bay, Irwin called Lawrence football games on an Appleton radio station, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Beloit trims sports
Beloit College announced this week that it would be dropping men’s tennis and men’s golf due to a lack of participation. Men’s tennis is done effective immediately, and men’s golf will end after the spring season is completed in May.
The Bucs have had trouble fielding full teams in those sports in recent years. Beloit hasn’t won a Midwest Conference title in men’s tennis since 1951 and hasn’t won a title in men’s golf since 1962.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director 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.
Lawrence at St. Norbert/Carroll preview
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team hits the road again this week to face two tough opponents. The Vikings travel to St. Norbert College on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. game. Lawrence then travels to Carroll for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday.