Defense Carries Green Knights Past Foresters

From Sports Information Director, February 26, 2016 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College held Lake Forest College to 17 second-half points and used the stalwart defensive play as the impetus behind a 63-48 win in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament at Schuldes Sports Center.

The Green Knights (22-2), ranked No. 8 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, will play Carroll University (20-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday for the MWC Tournament championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

St. Norbert held a 16-5 lead just over seven minutes into the game when D.J. DeValk canned a 3-pointer with 12:52 remaining in the first half. Lake Forest crept back into the game, going on a 13-4 run to trail just 20-18 with 8:07 to go in the period followed a Danny Sotos 3-pointer.

The Green Knights led 26-20 with 5:43 left in the half before going scoreless for the next 4:47, trailing by three points on two occasions. Lake Forest led 31-30 at intermission.

St. Norbert held two six-point leads early in the second half but saw that advantage melt down to two points with a 43-41 edge with 10:47 to go. The Foresters would score just seven points the rest of the game. St. Norbert went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:44 to take a 53-41 lead with 7:03 to go on a Ben Bobinski layup.

The Foresters would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

St. Norbert, which won its 63rd consecutive game against a Midwest Conference opponent, shot 47.1 percent (24-for-51) from the floor. DeValk was the only Green Knights to reach double figures with 24 points. Tim Marshall had nine points and nine rebounds, while Bobinski had nine points and eight rebounds.

Lake Forest shot 33.3 percent (18-for-54) from the floor for the game and was just 7-for-27 (25.9 percent) in the second half. Sotos had a team-high 18 points, while Jim Schick and Orlando Brown had 10 points apiece.