Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics
Lawrence University coaching legend Ron Roberts died Sunday (Dec. 2) in Oshkosh, Wis., at age 81.
Roberts, who came to Lawrence in 1963 as an assistant football coach and retired in 1993, led the Vikings to unprecedented heights on the gridiron. Roberts’ football teams won six Midwest Conference championships, and the 1981 squad reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
To read more about Roberts’ life and for information on memorial services, click here.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team faces a pair of Midwest Conference rivals this week. The Vikings travel to Carroll University on Tuesday evening, and Lawrence hosts Cornell College on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.
The Lawrence University women’s basketball team has a busy week as the Vikings play three games in a stretch of five days. Lawrence travels to Carroll University for a Midwest Conference game on Tuesday and then returns home to face Northland International University in a nonconference contest on Thursday. Lawrence wraps up its week with a conference game against Cornell College on Saturday.
The Lawrence University hockey team scored three times in the first 9:39 of the third period and went on to a 5-2 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Finlandia University on Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Five different players scored for Lawrence (4-6-0, 4-4-0 MCHA), and Erik Soderlund and Paul Zuke had two assists apiece for the Vikings. Lawrence also scored two short-handed goals, and the Vikings now have five short-handers on the season.
Lawrence led 2-1 entering the third period, and the Vikings quickly pulled away. Phil Bushbacher scored off passes from Logan Lemirande and Zuke just 2:22 into the period for a 3-1 lead. Rudi Pino then scored at the 5:54 mark off passes from Brandon Boelter and Soderlund for a 4-1 edge.
After Soderlund got whistled for roughing at 8:12, the Lions (3-6-0, 3-5-0) went on the power play but it was Lawrence that cashed in. Brad Scurfield scored an unassisted short-handed goal at 9:39 for a 5-1 Lawrence lead.
Mike Montrose scored on the power play for Finlandia at the 14:20 mark to cut the lead to 5-2, but that’s as close as the Lions would get.
Lawrence jumped on Finlandia early with Huck Saunders scoring for the Vikings just 6:31 into the first period. Lemirande got the first short-handed goal of his career when scored at the 8:07 mark of the first to put the Vikings up 2-0. Justin Scott scored for Finlandia with just 1:32 left in the second period to trim the margin to 2-1.
Peter Emery made 28 saves to pick up the victory for Lawrence. Troy Chandler stopped 36 shots and took the loss.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team pulled away early in the second half and rolled to an 81-66 Midwest Conference victory over the Prairie Fire on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Davis DeWolfe led Lawrence (3-2, 2-1 MWC) with 19 points, and Conor Klusendorf posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Chris Siebert added 12 points and a team-high five assists for the Vikings.
Mitch Murphy paced Knox (0-4, 0-3) with 18 points with 17 of those coming in the first half.
Knox was hot from long range early and the Prairie Fire led by as many as seven points in the first half. Lawrence quickly rallied and led by as many as 10 points in the first half.
The Vikings were up 42-36 at the break and opened the second half with a 14-2 run. DeWolfe scored seven points in that run, including a three-point play to cap the outburst with 14:11 remaining.
Knox trimmed the lead back to 13 at 58-45 on David Jones’ three-point play, but Lawrence stretched the lead after that. The Vikings went on a 13-2 run to lead 71-47 with 7:42 left. Max Burgess started the run with a 3-pointer, Klusendorf added four points and DeWolfe capped the run with a layup to give Lawrence a 24-point edge.
Knox never got closer than 19 points until the final 33 seconds of the game.
Klusendorf, Lawrence’s career blocks leader and the MWC’s blocks leader, also picked up three blocks in the game and DeWolfe added a pair of rejections.
The Vikings were solid at the foul line, hitting on 20 of 24 attempts. Knox, which didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half, finished 7 of 15 from the line.
The Knox College women’s basketball team withstood a pair of second-half runs by Lawrence University to post a 90-79 Midwest Conference victory over the Vikings on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Jodi Marver paced Knox (1-3, 1-2 MWC) with 21 points. Becky Duffy added 19 points for the Prairie Fire and hit 15 of 18 shots from the foul line.
Lawrence (0-4, 0-3) had four players score in double figures, led by Amber Lisowe with 18. Kassidy Rinehart added 15 points, and Alex Deshler had another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Jeannine Schulz also scored 12 points for the Vikings.
Knox jumped out to a huge lead early in the game and the Prairie Fire was up 28-9 with 11:23 left in the opening half. Knox would lead by as many as 23 points in the first half before the Vikings trimmed the lead to 47-31 at the break.
Lawrence opened the second half on a 10-2 run, with Katie Schumacher and Schulz scoring four points apiece, to cut the lead to 49-41 with 14:14 left.
Knox then slowly started to pull away again, and the Prairie Fire built the lead back to as many as 20 points, the last time with 4:50 remaining.
Lawrence mounted another charge, going on a 16-3 run to cut the lead to 80-73 with 2:18 remaining. Lisowe and Reinhart scored six points apiece during the run, which was capped by Deshler’s layup.
Knox won the game from the foul line from this point as Duffy went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final 1:44 to seal the victory.
The Lawrence University hockey team turned the tables on Finlandia University late in the second period and went on to a 6-3 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association victory over the Lions on Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
Lawrence (3-6-0, 3-4-0 MCHA) trailed 3-2 and was skating two men down due to penalties, but the Vikings killed off the two-man advantage and then scored a pair of goals just moments later to seize the momentum. Lawrence then scored twice in the third period to seal the victory.
The Vikings led 2-1 early in the second period thanks to goals from Brad Scurfield and Phil Bushbacher, but Finlandia (3-5-0, 3-4-0) scored two goals in a 56-second span midway through the period to grab a 3-2 edge.
Lawrence then took a pair of penalties that left the Lions with a two-man advantage for 1:39. The Vikings killed off the two-man advantage and were still down a skater when Finlandia’s Kevin Smith was whistled for a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
With the teams now both skating a man down, Scurfield scored off a face-off at the 13:15 mark to tie the game at 3-3. Just 24 seconds later with Lawrence on the power play, Brandon Boelter’s slapshot found the back of the net and the Vikings led 4-3.
Buschbacher then scored 4:08 into the third to put Lawrence up 5-3, and Logan Lemirande added a goal with just 1:41 left to seal the win.
Bushbacher and Scurfield both had a pair of goals, and Lemirande had four assists to go with his goal.
Michael Baldino made 19 saves to pick up the win. Troy Chandler stopped 42 shots for Finlandia and took the loss.
The Lawrence University men’s basketball team returns home to Alexander Gymnasium on Saturday when the Vikings host Knox College in the opening game of a Midwest Conference doubleheader. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
The Lawrence University women’s basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Alexander Gymnasium for a 3 p.m. Midwest Conference game on Saturday vs. Knox College.
RIPON, Wis. — The Ripon College men’s basketball team outscored Lawrence University 16-6 down the stretch to rally for a 68-65 Midwest Conference victory over the Vikings on Wednesday at the Storzer Center.
Taylor Koth scored 27 points to pace Ripon (2-2, 1-0 MWC).
Davis DeWolfe and Tyler Mazur added 12 points apiece to lead the Vikings (2-2, 1-1 MWC). DeWolfe also added a game-high nine rebounds.
Lawrence trailed by three midway through the second half when the Vikings went on a 10-0 run. Mazur started the outburst with a 3-pointer, and Jamie Nikitas scored the next five points with a layup and a 3-pointer. DeWolfe finished the run with a jumper to put the Vikings up 59-52 with 6:47 left.
Ripon countered by scoring the game’s next six points and the teams traded the lead after that.
Ripon led 62-61 when DeWolfe connected on a jumper and Chris Siebert followed with a pair of free throws to put Lawrence up 65-62 with 1:52 left.
Andy Popp hit a 3-pointer for Ripon to tie the game, and the Vikings turned the ball over with 45 seconds left. Koth went to the basket and was fouled with 19 seconds left. He hit one free throw to give Ripon a 66-65 lead.
Siebert got off a shot in the final seconds for Lawrence, but his contested jumper was off the mark. Koth grabbed the rebound and converted two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
