Green Knights Survive Cornell With Win

From Staff Writer, January 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball
by Zach Herson, ,

GREEN BAY - St. Norbert College battled with Cornell College in a Midwest Conference game at the Kress Events Center. Still nursing a one-game lead over Ripon College in the conference standings, the Green Knights found themselves tied up in a defensive battle with the Rams early, before taking a large double-digit lead. St. Norbert outlasted a Cornell barrage in the second half to win 67-57.

The Green Knights (14-3, 11-1 MWC), ranked No. 13 in the D3hoops.com top 25, had a close battle with Cornell throughout the first half, but managed to pull away in the last ten minutes of the half. Cornell mounted a furious comeback from a 21-point deficit to get within four of the Green Knights before St. Norbert took control back of the game with an 11-3 run late.

The teams exchanged leads before a three-point field goal by Ben Bobinski gave the Green Knights a 16-12 lead. A 3-pointer from Taylor Pann and a pair of shot clock violations by Cornell helped St. Norbert to a 21-16 lead at the midway point of the first half.

Both teams were locked in a defensive struggle for a few minutes, but a Riley Haas steal led to a breakaway three-point play to give the Green Knights a 29-20 lead. Haas sank a three-point shot to extend the Green Knight advantage to 34-23 late in the half. The Green Knights added two more quick baskets to give themselves a 38-23 lead heading into the locker room.

The Green Knights started out the second half quickly, scoring five points in the first 2 1/2 minutes to extend their lead 43-25. An 18-4 run by Cornell cut St. Norbert's lead to 52-47 halfway through the second half. Cornell closed in within four before Bobinski sank a 3-pointer followed up by a quick steal by DeValk leading to a Bobinski layup to bring the Green Knights' lead to 59-50. Another steal lead to a breakaway layup by Reinthaler to put the St. Norbert lead back in double digits at 61-51 to fend off the late rally.

The Green Knights shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the field. Reinthaler led all St. Norbert players with 17 points, with DeValk contributing 15 points and Bobinski scoring 14.

Cornell shot 48.8 percent (20-for-41) from the field, with Corey Davis leading all their scorers with 14 points. Craig Engle scored 13 points and Jon Anderson added 11.