St. Norbert Clinches MWC Title Share With Rally Past Lake Forest
From Staff Writer, February 14, 2017 | Men's Basketball
by Zach Herson, ,
GREEN BAY - St. Norbert College took on Lake Forest College in a late-season Midwest Conference affair. Seeking to clinch a share of the regular-season title with a win, the Green Knights trailed by as many as seven points before battling back in the second half to pull out a 64-58 victory at UW-Green Bay's Kress Center.
The Green Knights (18-4, 15-2 MWC), ranked No. 14 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, started the game hot before going cold towards the end of the first half and finding themselves down six at 33=27 headed into halftime. A second-half spree of 3s brought them back into the lead, and free throws at the end sealed the close victory for the Green Knights.
St. Norbert found themselves in a tight affair early. Interlocked at 6-6, D.J. DeValk sank a 3-pointer to give the Green Knights the lead. DeValk contributed seven of the first 11 Green Knight points. The Green Knights slowly pulled away from their conference foes, taking a 17-10 lead off of an 11-4 run at the midway point of the half.
Lake Forest responded with an 8-0 run to take the advantage back by one. A 3-pointer from Lake Forest and a pair of Green Knight baskets left the teams tied 21-21 towards the end of the half. St. Norbert took a five-point lead off of a three and a pair of free throws from DeValk, but Lake Forest went on a 12-1 run to put the Green Knights down 33-27 heading into half.
St. Norbert clawed at its deficit in the second half, slicing the Lake Forest lead down to 38-35. A Ben Bobinski layup cut the edge down to one, and a 3-pointer by Taylor Penn knotted it up at 40 apiece at the midpoint of the half. The Green Knights continued their barrage,a Bobinski and a DeValk 3-pointer helping them to a 49-45 advantage.
The teams exchanged baskets before Penn sank another 3 to give the Green Knights a late 58-53 advantage. With 1:04 left, Lake Forest tied it up at 58 with a 3 of their own. Terrence Garner sank four free throws to give the Green Knights a decisive 62-58 edge in the last minute.
The Green Knights shot 47.8 percent (22-for-46) from the field. DeValk put together a 24-point performance, while Mitchell Reinthaler and Penn contributed 10 points apiece.
Lake Forest shot 40 percent (24-for-60) from the field. Mike Rueffer led the team with 13 points, while Jordan Moran added on 12 of his own. Jim Schick and Danny Sotos scored 10 points each.