Green Knights Hold On To Tip Benedictine In Top-Ten Battle

From Sports Information Director, November 19, 2016 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

LISLE, Ill. - St. Norbert College went right down to the wire for the second time in as many games on the young 2016-17 season but prevailed over Benedictine University 71-70 in a non-conference game at Rice Center.

The Green Knights (1-1), ranked No. 4 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, suffered a 68-67 loss at UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday to open the season. Benedictine (1-1), ranked No. 6 by D3hoops.com, finished 31-1 last season en route to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

St. Norbert seemingly had the game under control when it took a 68-58 lead on the Eagles with 4:04 remaining on a Tim Marshall basket. From there, Benedictine mounted a furious last-ditch rally, going on a 12-0 run to take a 70-68 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining. St. Norbert missed four field goals, missed two front ends of 1-and-1 situations and had a turnover during Benedictine's run.

An Adam Reynolds jumper with 50 seconds left put Benedictine ahead 69-68 and Michael Blaszczyk split a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left for a 70-68 edge. St. Norbert's D.J. DeValk rescued the Green Knights, converting a conventional three-point play with 9.4 seconds remaining to push St. Norbert ahead 71-70. Benedictine's Tahron Harvey missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the game.

St. Norbert led virtually the entire first half, leading by as many as 15 points at 29-14 and later pushed ahead by 17 at 43-26 just before halftime before settling on a 43-28 edge at intermission.

The Green Knights led 52-32 with 16:34 remaining before Benedictine got back into the game immediately thereafter with a 10-0 run to trail 52-42 with 14:23 to go. St. Norbert led by as much as 14 points with 11:33 remaining before Benedictine slowly climbed back into the game.

St. Norbert shot 47.5 percent (29-for-61) from the floor. DeValk led St. Norbert with 24 points. Ben Bobinski added 14 points, while Marshall and Mitchell Reinthaler had 10 points apiece. Marshall had nine rebounds.

Benedictine, which saw a 31-game regular-season winning streak end, shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the floor. Brayden Olson led the Eagles with 16 points off the bench. Reynolds had 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Harvey also added 14 points and six assists.