St. Norbert Pulls Away From Beloit

From Sports Information Director, January 4, 2017 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

BELOIT - St. Norbert College turned in another strong defensive effort in posting a 72-51 win over Beloit College in a Midwest Conference game at Flood Arena.

The Green Knights (8-2, 5-0 MWC), ranked No. 12 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, extended their winning streak against Midwest Conference opponents to 69. St. Norbert, Division III's top defensive team allowing 53.0 points per game, also held their eighth consecutive opponent to 58 points or less - the longest mark in school history since World War II.

St. Norbert held a 33-27 halftime lead before slowly pulling away in the second half. The Green Knights opened the period on a 16-4 run, including a 9-0 spurt on the back end. Ben Bobinski's jumper and 3-pointer put the Green Knights ahead 45-31 with 15:19 to play. Tim Marshall and D.J. DeValk added layups, the latter giving St. Norbert a 49-31 edge with 13:51 left.

The Green Knights never led by less than 15 points the rest of the way, and held a lead as big as 31 points at 68-37 with 6:04 to go.

St. Norbert led most of the first half but struggled to get any breathing room. Beloit's Mason Jones canned a 3-pointer with 4:14 left in the half to tie the game 25-25. A hoop by DeValk, a free throw from Connor Curtis and a 3-pointer from Bobinski gave St. Norbert a 31-25 lead. The Green Knights led 33-27 at halftime.

The Green Knights shot 42.2 percent (27-for-64) from the floor. DeValk led St. Norbert with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists, while Bobinski came off the bench to add 14 points. Terrence Garner added nine points and 11 rebounds.

Beloit shot 34.1 percent (15-for-44) from the floor and was harried into 20 turnovers. Cody Risseeuw led the Buccaneers with 13 points while Jones added 10 points.