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Wipperfurth's 33 Points Leads St. Norbert to MWC Tournament Championship, NCAA Division III Tournament

From Sports Information Director, February 27, 2010 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - Dave Wipperfurth's career-high 33 points powered St. Norbert College to a high-octane offensive performance in an 85-74 win over Carroll University in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship game at Schuldes Sports Center.

The Green Knights (22-3) clinched the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament, and set a school record for wins in the process. The NCAA Tournament trip is St. Norbert's first since 2002, and comes just four years after a seven-win season.

Wipperfurth scored 16 points in the first half as the Green Knights charged out to a 43-32 halftime advantage behind 16 of 27 (59.3 percent) shooting from the floor. St. Norbert led 36-32 with 5 minutes 1 second left in the first half before going on a 7-0 run to close the half. James Pfitzinger's jumper in the paint started the run, and Chris Peterson's 3-pointer with 3:13 left put St. Norbert ahead 41-32. Peterson then made a pair of free throws for the half's final points.

St. Norbert led 60-49 with 12:31 left to play before going on a 3-0 run over the next 2 1/2 minutes to take a 69-49 lead with 9:53 to go on a John Taylor jumper. The two teams traded 3s, with Wipperfurth canning a 3-pointer with 8:13 left for a 72-52 lead.

Carroll would make a last-ditch rally, going on an 11-1 run over the next four minutes to pull within 73-64 by the Pioneers' do-everything guard John Hoch. The closest the Pioneers would get was seven at 75-68 with 2:06 left, but St. Norbert made all eight of its free throws down the stretch to ice the win.

Wipperfurth added seven rebounds and five assists and made six 3-pointers in 34 minutes. Taylor finished with 12 points, Peterson 11 and defensive specialist Paul Mallers had four points, five assists and 12 rebounds. The Green Knights were 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the floor for the game, and canned 11 of 21 three-point field goals.

Hoch, Carroll's second all-time leading scorer, finished his collegiate career with 26 points. Eric Thompson finished with 20 points, making six 3-pointers, and Paul Grosshuesch had 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Pioneers shot 41.7 percent from the floor, making 25 of 60 shots.

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